2026 (In)tolerance

Competition results

We are delighted to announce the results of this year’s photography competition on the theme of the sociology of (in)tolerance.

Entrants were invited to capture in a photo a story about (in)tolerance. This was the theme guidance: 

Across the globe, societies have seemingly become more intolerant of difference. Those deemed ‘outsiders’ increasingly face attempts to exclude and marginalise them. Examples of growing intolerance range from hostility towards migration, migrants and ethnic minorities, to the war on ‘woke’ and the assertion of traditional understandings of sex and gender. But even amidst this tempest of intolerance, we find islands of resistance in which communities recognise, celebrate and protect diversity and difference.  

They were asked to think about the big or small ways that (in)tolerance exists in the world around us and capture their interpretation of the term in photographic form. 

The competition was open to all GCSE and A-Level (or equivalent i.e. International Baccalaureate) students in the UK and abroad.

You can find the winner, and four runners-up below. Each picture is accompanied by the text submitted by the student explaining the sociological thinking behind the image.

The Department would like to thank everyone who entered the competition this year, as well as the teachers for their support!  

Winning entry: 

Together, Apart

Gladys Lo, NONSUCH HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

“A group of strangers waiting together at a bus stop, each absorbed in their own world. Despite differences in age, background, and identity, they share the same space and destination. The image explores the fine line between tolerance and indifference—whether simply existing side by side is enough, or whether true tolerance requires connection, recognition, and understanding.”

Runners up:  

Please note the runners up are displayed in alphabetical order (student's first name).  

A Selective Welcome

Ava Matharoo, QUEEN ELIZABETH’S HIGH SCHOOL

“This photograph explores intolerance through the contrast between inclusion and exclusion. In the centre of the image there is a bright green sign saying “All Are Welcome”, but it is peeling away from the door, showing how the idea of acceptance can sometimes be fake or ignored. Around it are signs like “Not For You”, “Members Only”, and “No Entry”, which create a cold and unwelcoming feeling. 

The dark lighting and shadows make the door look closed off and intimidating, representing barriers that stop people from feeling accepted or included. I wanted the photograph to show how society can say everyone is welcome while still excluding people through judgement, prejudice, and unfair rules. 

The contrast between the welcoming sign and the negative signs highlights the hypocrisy behind intolerance and encourages the viewer to think about how easily people can be shut out without it always being obvious.”

Please note this photograph does not appear in its full length due to the limitations of the website. 

Make Britain Great Again

Elan Shao, THE CITY OF STOKE-ON-TRENT SIXTH FORM COLLEGE

“Around my town, many British/English flags remain from the “operation raise the colours” movement last summer. The display of patriotism in itself is not harmful, but the act was started with strong anti-immigrant, racist tones to protest against immigration. The increased popularity of Reform UK has led to the growing scapegoating of immigrants and the clear display of intolerance towards them is particularly ironic as the flags ought to be emblematic of British values – one of which is tolerance. 

The edges of the flag becoming frayed over time could represent the disintegration of core British values – especially tolerance. The flag remaining up (despite only being held by a couple of zip ties) both shows how these underlying racist views still remain common, and the stubbornness of those who are resistant to change and becoming more tolerant of others. Change is a fundamental part of nature, as is migration – reflected by the bird in the corner, questioning why humans are so insistent on placing borders and restricting freedom of movement.

 
The abundance of national flags reminds me of the USA, and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign, as the promise of returning one’s country to its former glory is also promoted by right-wing parties in the UK. They ignore the blatant issues of colonialism and slavery in the Empire, which was how Britain became “great” in the first place, and the clear hypocrisy of having colonised around ¼ of the world, yet remaining intolerant of those trying to enter our country.”

You Are Loved

Joshua Mendonca, ST BERNARD’S CATHOLIC GRAMMAR SCHOOL

"This board was in a museum in Portugal. Plastered with tape and notes of paper, it was inundated with words and symbols. They were all different: containing different languages from different people. It gave visitors the opportunity to write whatever they desired. They could have written down special dates and even hate speech, characterised by different thought processes behind each word. Instead, it promoted cohesion amongst tourists and locals. Penned on are messages of tolerance: “Avida é Bela!” – “Life is beautiful” from Portugal. “Be Kind”, from Canada. No matter the person, we are united by solidarity, as we immediately thought of emblems of acceptance to write down. Obviously, these notes aren’t permanent, as they can be disposed of, but they represent a growing desire to show appreciation of each other, since there is a substantial number of them. 

This board could have been placed anywhere else. But I believe this was judiciously placed in a place that conserves peace, which allows people to see how humanity has become this ‘golden age’ of acceptance with the changing environment. There is no longer a need to fear processes such as globalisation or the need to assert conventional gender stereotypes. The ‘You are loved’ note in the centre cracked a smile on my face. Not only was it the first note that caught my eye, but it remained striking. It made me realise that someone out there loves you no matter what. Someone will celebrate your diversity."

Classed and Controlled

Prithvir Shah, PRABHAVATI PADAMSHI SONI INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE

“The image shows a rickshaw with the quote, “In democracy all are equal, but some are more equal than others.” The quote, adapted from George Orwell’s 1984, is a direct strike at the essence of false class consciousness - how marginalised communities are conditioned to accept that their oppression is natural, and how the equality promised by democracy is only conditional. The rickshaw is a vehicle used daily in India, especially in Mumbai, yet all passengers are not treated the same. The driver, perhaps someone from a lower caste or a marginalised community, works for hundreds of people every day, yet their work is made into a commodity, as if they were expendable and not essential. In a country where casteist and classist intolerance, reinforced by capitalism, are ingrained in every mind, not only in direct acts of violence, but also in how we’ve been silently conditioned to treat them as something other than what we are. 

It reveals how democracy’s false equality is profited upon by capitalism, reducing the driver to a labour unit rather than a human, denying them the right to dignity and equality as compared to an upper-class person, propagating social intolerance. By painting Orwell’s quote on the rickshaw, the driver protests not just intolerance but the capitalist structures that enforce it, refuting not only the symbolic violence thrust upon them, but also the moral distancing deeming them inhumane, and asking everyone who sees it to question - who all are really equal in the world’s biggest democracy?”

Please note this photograph does not appear in its full length due to the limitations of the website.