For the first time ever, Campion School’s annual Sheth-Gomes Essay Invitational (SGEI) is going national. The contest, hosted by the Class of 1981, is expanding its reach beyond Maharashtra to include schools from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and other cities across India.

Every year on the day of the contest, students gather at Campion’s historic Fort campus, where they are given a topical theme. Participants are allowed one hour for research, after which phones are set aside, and pens take over. Over the next 90 minutes, essays are written and submitted anonymously, and a panel of judges selects five finalists before announcing the winner.