The annual Ridding Reading Prize took place in the Fellows’ Drawing Room on Monday 10th March 2025. The competition is a Girton tradition founded in honour of Caroline Mary Ridding, who won a Scholarship to Girton to read Classics in 1883, and became a renowned Sanskrit and Pali scholar.
Judging panel
- Dr Adam Crothers
- Dr Stuart Davis (Acting Chair, in place of Professor Angela Roberts who was unwell on the day)
- Judith Drinkwater
- Dr Martin Ennis
- Dr James Freeman (External Adjudicator)
The competition
Selected passages were largely in keeping with this year’s Girton Talks theme of “Taking Stock: Global Changes and Challenges in the 21st Century”.
There were two postgraduate and eight undergraduate contestants, reading a range of subjects, mainly in the Arts and Humanities.
The ten contestants all tackled the passages chosen for Round 1:
- Round 1 verse: Extract from Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
- Round 1 prose: Extract from Metropolis by Thea von Harbeau
Five contestants were selected by the judges to continue to the second round, where they tackled the following passages:
- Round 2 verse: “Love in the time of new media” by Vahni Capildeo
- Round 2 prose: Extract from The brain dead megaphone by George Saunders
- Round 2 unseen (two minutes preparation): “Binsey poplars” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The winners were:
- Overall: £100 to Heather Skye Irvine (3rd year, English)
- Judges special commendation prize: £50 to Maddie Robertson (4th year, History and Modern Languages)
- Audience Prize: £50 to Maria Karinatan (2nd year, Classics)
Winners’ photo: left to right: Maria Karinatan – Heather Skye Irvine – Maddie Robertson
The evening began with a delicious buffet supper for competitors and judges, which was kindly organised by the Junior Bursar, Maureen Hackett, and supplied by the excellent Catering team.
During the Judges’ discussions, the audience was given an account of Caroline Ridding’s life and activities by the Librarian, Jenny Blackhurst, and treated to music from pianist Loris Marcel (PhD, Chemistry).
The thanks of the judges go to all the students who took part, and to everyone who contributed to making the evening enjoyable and entertaining. In particular they thank the Librarian, whose excellent organisational skills ensured that all went well beforehand and on the evening of the competition.
Photo caption:
L-R: Jenny Blackhurst, Maria Karinatan, Dr James Freeman, Dr Martin Ennis, Heather Skye Irvine, Dr Stuart Davis, Dr Adam Carruthers, Maddie Robertson, Dr James Wade (Vice-Mistress) [NB Judith Drinkwater also a judge, absent].
Dr Stuart Davis (Acting Chair)
17 March 2025