Ilkley Grammar School student wins inaugural ‘Alan Bennett Prize’
Ilkley Grammar School [IGS] sixth-form student Maya Robinson-Bakes has been named as the winner of the inaugural Alan Bennett Prize, launched by The Rotary Club of Ilkley.
Open to IGS students, the new competition has been named after, and inspired by, one of Yorkshire’s greatest storytellers: playwright and novelist Alan Bennett.
IGS sixth-form students were encouraged to write a 1000-word story entitled ‘Who am I?’ and then six shortlisted entries were assessed by a panel of judges that included published authors who presented at this year’s Ilkley Literature Festival.
The panel were deeply impressed, judging the standard of entries to be 'nothing less than breathtaking'. The panel praised the level of writing as 'extraordinarily sophisticated' and described the ideas explored in the narratives as 'both profound and psychologically insightful', exceeding their expectations 'by some distance'.
Dr Peter Mitchell, youth lead for the Rotary Club of Ilkley, commended the students: 'As a professor of psychology, I was amazed at the sophisticated psychological insights, along with the advanced level of scholarship. This is a credit not only to the students but also to the quality of education at Ilkley Grammar School.'
The winning students excelled with their beautifully crafted and wonderfully original entries. Third place, and a £20 book token, went to Marlee Taylor for her narrative on the quest for individualism in the face of conflicting expectations from friends and family on what kind of person one should be.
Second place, and a £30 book token, went to Scarlett Beatson-Smith for a tremendously thought-provoking and poetic piece exploring the role of nature and nurture in one’s roots and attachments.
Congratulations go to Maya Robinson-Bakes as the 2026 winner of the Alan Bennett Prize for a brilliant exposition of what we think of ourselves and how that sometimes clashes with how others see us.
The first prize of £100 is funded by The Rotary Club of Ilkley, while those placed second and third receive £30 and £20 book tokens respectively, generously donated by The Grove Bookshop.
On winning the prize, Maya said: 'This was a complete shock. I am so honoured and thankful to have been given this opportunity by Ilkley Grammar school. The support from my teachers has been so encouraging and I'm very grateful to have been able to take part in the competition, even more so to have been able to receive this prize. This is something that I will definitely be mentioning in my personal statement when applying for a place at university.'
Ms Louise Lister, Leader of Key Stage 4 English said: ‘I am so proud of our students, for their work-ethic, motivation and dedication. Reading their creative work was a privilege and I look forward to seeing some of them become great writers in the future.'
Mr Jamie Gutch, Deputy Headteacher continued: ‘We are very grateful to the Rotary Club of Ilkley for conceiving, and supporting, this new prize. This is the latest of several initiatives that have emerged from the deepening partnership between Ilkley Grammar School and the Rotary Club of Ilkley. Our values and ambitions for young people are very much aligned, and we look forward to continuing our work together for the benefit of the young people of Ilkley and beyond.'
