news - 04.03.09

2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Innovative Thought

James Searle became the second winner of the annual Arthur C. Clarke Award for Innovative Thought, which was inaugurated in 2008 for an outstanding student at the Richard Huish Sixth Form College in Taunton, Somerset (it was the Huish Grammar School when Sir Arthur was a student there in the 1930’s). The College now has some 1,800 students from a wide area of the West of England and the winner of this award is selected by the senior staff in conjunction with the UK-based Directors of the Foundation. The award is made to the student whose work embraces the sciences and arts, “following in the footsteps of Arthur C. Clarke”. The citation for the 2009 winner described James Searle as an outstanding student, both dedicated and self-motivated. It continued: “He received 100% marks in some of his economics exams, and this was repeated across his other subject areas. He is an exceptionally able Physics student with an incisive problem-solving mind and excellent mathematical skills. More than this, his left-field interjections, wacky ideas and witty asides brought delight and a fresh perspective to the lessons.

“He was part of the Young Enterprise Programme during his first year at college, and he won Best Presentation Award with his team, at the County finals. He set himself high standards, but was always modest about his achievements. He has taken up a place at Brasenose College, Oxford to read Politics, Philosophy, and Economics. James deserves this award which reflects his high academic and personal achievements and his original approach to every area of endeavour during his time at Richard Huish College.”

The photograph shows a delighted James Searle at this year’s College Prizegiving event on April 2nd with Fred W. Clarke, Arthur’s brother, who presented the inscribed monolith trophy, together with a check for $500 and a signed copy of one of Arthur C. Clarke’s recent books.

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