2014-commonwealth-essay-competition-winners-announced

Deadline: May 1st 2014

Are you a writer? Are you interested in the world around you? Do you want your voice to be heard by others? If so, the Commonwealth Essay Competition is definitely for you.

Run by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883, the Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest and largest schools’ international writing competition. It provides a platform for young people to compete with their peers in a truly global environment.

The theme for the 2014 Commonwealth Essay Competition is ‘Team Commonwealth‘. As athletes gather in Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, team spirit will be on display both within and between nations. Young writers are encouraged to explore this theme in fun, academic, witty, and most of all creative ways!

Eligibility

Open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and under, the Essay Competition offers young people the opportunity to make their voice heard on a global platform and engage with issues important to them.

Entrants are judged in two age groups, Junior (under 14 years) and Senior (14–18 years) and must be living in, or be a national of, a Commonwealth country/territory

Junior Category – Born after 1st May 2000

Topic Numbers
1. Tell us about your family or friends. Who are the team players and who are the stars?
2. ‘You’re one of us now.’
3. What makes a good team? What makes a good team player?
4. Tell us about an instance (or two) where people from different generations have worked together.
5. Have there been times in your life when you wished you had someone to team up with?

Senior Category:Born between 2nd May 1995 and 1st May 2000

Topic Numbers

1. Team Commonwealth! How would you describe what your country has to offer other members of
the team?
2. How can sport build peace in troubled communities?
3. What part does competition play in people’s daily lives?
4. Explore the relationship between ethics, sport and human rights.
5. ‘We’re a good partnership, you and I!’

Junior and Senior : A bonus topic open to all entrants

1. ‘United we stand!’

The 2014 Commonwealth Essay Competition, run in partnership with Cambridge University Press, closes for entries on Thursday 1st May.

Entrants are encouraged to be creative in their response. Answers can be submitted in a number
of formats, for example: poem, letter, folk tale, script or essay – the choice is yours!

Past prizes have included

Certificates •
Resources for winner’s school •
Being invited to meet famous authors •
Taking part in expert workshops •

Work experience at international organisations • Entries featured in worldwide media.

How to enter
All essays must be in English and can be submitted with an entry form online or via post. For details on postal hubs and how to submit your essay, please visit www.thercs.org

FAO Young Commonwealth Competitions,

The Royal Commonwealth Society,
25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AP*

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Commonwealth Essay Competition

This year has been a record-breaking year for the Commonwealth Essay Competition. Not only has the competition received in excess of 11,000 entries, but over 70 judges have been involved in the judging process and the standard of entries has been excellent.

As the competition celebrates its 130th anniversary, it is evident that the competition remains an important means of expression for young people across the Commonwealth, as over 830 schools across 55 Commonwealth countries and territories participated.

For 2013 the theme of the competition was ‘Opportunity through Enterprise’. The judges were impressed at the creativity and research that entrants displayed in approaching the topics.

As ever, there was an extremely high standard of entry as participants competed with their peers from every corner of the Commonwealth, so to win an award is a big achievement.

We are delighted to announce that over 2,000 entries won awards, with the top prizes going to New Zealand, Guernsey, Canada and Hong Kong. The judges also selected a number of excellent Gold entries from both the Junior and Senior Categories to receive special commendations.

The top two Prize Winners will be flown to London for a special awards ceremony in the autumn and the Runners-Up will be invited to local awards ceremonies.

All Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will receive certificates before the end of 2013 and entrants who didn’t receive an award this year are entitled to certificates of participation.

Congratulations to all winners and thank you to the Commonwealth Essay Competition 2013 sponsors Cambridge University Press for their support in this record-breaking year!