The Queen’s Commonwealth 2018 Essay Competition launched

Citizens and residents of the Commonwealth, aged 18 years and under, are invited to participate in an essay competition.

Last week, the Royal Commonwealth Society launched The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2018, calling on schools and young people across the Commonwealth to take part.

Focusing on the theme of Towards a Common Future, this year’s topics ask young writers to explore how the Commonwealth can address global challenges and work to create a better future for all citizens. Topics explore the sub-themes of sustainability, safety, prosperity and fairness, in line with the theme of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.

The launch follows a hugely successful Awards Ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, in the presence of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, and attended by over 100 distinguished guests, including David Walliams, Anne Fine OBE, Gyles Brandreth and Orla Kiely. Four young winners travelled from Australia, Canada, India and the UK to receive their certificates and participate in a week long programme of educational and cultural activities including visits to Parliament, Shakespeare’s Globe and Westminster Abbey.

There were over 12,300 entries to the Competition in 2017, from 44 countries and over 600 schools across the Commonwealth.

Former Children’s Laureate, Anne Fine OBE, said: ‘It’s fascinating to see the sheer range of response[s] to the competition…all our young winners show boundless imagination, along with impressive control. It was a pleasure to read these poems and stories.’

The Director of The Royal Commonwealth Society, Michael Lake CBE, said: ‘The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is a wonderful medium for bringing together young people from across the Commonwealth, developing creative writing skills and recognising the achievement of young writers.’

This highly prestigious competition aims to challenge young people’s thinking and the means by which they can express their views, using creative forms of writing such as essays, poems, stories or scripts.

The competition is open to all citizens and residents of the Commonwealth aged 18 and under and is open until June 1, 2018. A Winner and Runner-up from both the Senior and Junior categories will win a trip to London for a week-long series of educational and cultural events.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition was founded by the Royal Commonwealth Society in 1883 and is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing contest.

The junior category is open to entrants aged under 14 and the senior category is open to entrants aged 14-18.

More information about the competition including the entry rules and essay topics can be found at www.thercs.org/competition.