ASTUDENT at a Wotton-under-Edge school topped a national Sociology competition with her imaginative essay about equality.

Tilly Allen, 17, of Stone, is a student at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School, and recently won a British Sociological Association’s National Sixth Form Sociology Competition.

As winner, Miss Allen will be given an iPad as a prize, in addition to a cheque of £250 for the school.

Miss Allen started studying sociology when she was in year 10 and plans to go on to study the topic at university, and so leapt at the opportunity to take part in the competition.

She never would have guessed that months later she would be announced as the winner.

Writing an essay about inclusivity, and how sociologists approach that issue, Miss Allen imagined a message in a bottle being opened 50 years into the future. She imagined that the person reading this letter would be shocked by the way we treat certain groups of people.

One area of focus was disability, an area Miss Allen considers to be lacking from sociological studies.

She said: “I just entered for the experience to say that I had taken part so to win was absolutely amazing.

“My parents were really happy and all the teachers were saying it’s a shame I’d just sent my UCAS application off because it would have been a good addition.

Head of Sociology at KLB Lee Poole had informed his classes of the competition last year and was delighted with the result.

He said: “She’s a very good student and showed a lot of imagination in her essay. I think the slant of the message in the bottle, and the creativity shown, was gave her work the edge.

“She’s worked so hard and completely deserved to win. I’m very proud.”