SWU reveal winners of our World Social Work Day 2018 SWU Assignment Student Essay Competition

‘How social workers can solve austerity’


The Social Workers Union (SWU) is delighted to announce the winners of our recent World Social Work Day 2018 SWU Assignment Student Essay Competition. 

Chrissie Beatty of Bournemouth University, Rachel Hopkins of Cardiff University, Daniel Cornes of Keele University, and University of Worcester’s Jessica Hastings wrote winning essays on the question ‘How social workers can solve austerity’ – picking up £500 each.

The winning essays can be viewed as a PDF. (click here)


John McGowan, General Secretary of SWU, said, “I am delighted in the interest shown in this assignment and the ‘Austerity’ topic appears to have stimulated student social workers in submitting entries in a very high number. SWU and BASW will continue to campaign on Austerity and it is good to see that future social workers have a deep understanding of the impacts of austerity.”


Guy Shennan, former BASW Chair and one of the assignment markers, said, “The quality of the entries to this competition was uniformly high and some were outstanding. This was a great testament both to the calibre of students entering the profession and to the importance that our future social workers are attaching to combating austerity. Marking these essays was an absolute pleasure.”