TA Sillars Prize
This annual prize is supported by a generous donor, in memory of their father who was a retired headteacher and a keen educationalist with an interest in history and English.
Awarded to a student who has surpassed expectations during their studies and has completed the BA or BA (Hons) in History, Literature (with a focus on English), or a joint degree in both. There is no application process, the winner is selected by course lecturers.
Recipients of the TA Sillars Prize:
"Honestly I don't know what to say. Winning an award is such a surprise for me and I thought I would never be worthy of such a thing. I will say thank you to Dr Lucy Dean and Dr Nicola Martin for all their support, especially in my last two years. Thank You."
"I am surprised and delighted to receive this award. For my progression over the course of the degree to be recognised in this way means so much to me. I am grateful and thankful to the donor of the TA Sillars Prize and to the staff and lecturers at UHI. As a mature student I started the Literature degree unsure of how to properly construct an essay and questioning my academic ability, the support and feedback from the lectures on my course was invaluable. Their advice helped me to consistently improve my academic writing over the course of the degree, enabling me to graduate with a First. Thank you again to the donor and lecturers on the Literature BA(Hons) Degree."
2023: Sven Blake - Sven showed a significant and sustained level of improvement throughout the final two years of his degree, and particularly in 2023/24, resulting in him achieving a very well-earned first-class degree.
"I would like to thank the generous donor of the TA Sillars prize for the opportunity to win this award. From a young age, I have always had a keen interest in history and how our society has been shaped by what has happened in the past. These past few years studying history at a degree level has allowed me to gain a deeper insight into the academic methods and approaches that go into writing history. While it has been very challenging, it has also been incredibly rewarding and I am delighted with the my results. This prize would heavily contribute to this feeling of accomplishment, especially due the fact that the donor’s father also had a keen interest in the humanities. This prize would help enable me to do some travelling, which always been a dream of mine, and encourage me to possibly pursue further post-graduate studies in the future."
2022: Katherine Davidson. The inaugural prize was awarded to Katherine for her tremendous work ethic and dedication to her studies. Katherine graduated in September 2022 with a BA (Hons) History from UHI Inverness and is currently contining her studies at the University of Glasgow, with a postgraduate degree in Museum Studies.
‘I am very grateful to have received this award, it was truly unexpected. I wish to sincerely thank my lecturers and the staff at UHI and the Centre for History who have always bolstered my education and been supportive throughout my degree, without such, I would not have been able to achieve the level of progression I have. I will always look favourably upon my time at UHI due to my experiences, and again thank you for this award!’
Recipients of the TA Sillars Prize
- 2025 - Emily Robertson
- 2024 - Barbara Christie
- 2023 - Sven Blake
- 2022 - Katherine Davidson