The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition was launched by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, the Society’s inaugural Vice-Patron, during a visit to Ghana International School in Accra in the presence of more than one thousand school children.

The theme for 2019 is A Connected Commonwealth. The event was the first launch outside of the UK in many years, in the presence of Dr Greg Munro, RCS Chief Executive; Dr. Mary Ashun, Principal of Ghana International School; Mr Tom Hartley, Deputy High Commissioner to Ghana; HRH The Duchess of Cornwall; Rebecca Akufo-Addo, First Lady of Ghana; Mr. Eric Kutortse, Chairman of First Sky Group and Serene Insurance; Edward Enninful Editor-In-Chief of British Vogue magazine and John Apea, RCS Regional Co-ordinator for Africa (pictured L-R above).

Topics

SENIOR CATEGORY

Born between 2 June 2000 and 1 June 2005 (14-18 years of age)
‘You are the most optimistic, connected generation the world has ever known.’ HRH The Duke of Sussex. How can you use Commonwealth connections for positive change?
Connected by the oceans; can we work together to protect the environment?
‘We are all now connected by the Internet’ – Stephen Hawking. What does the future hold for humankind?
Family, Community, Nation, Commonwealth. What are the opportunities for shared, sustainable growth?

JUNIOR CATEGORY

Born on or after 2 June 2005 (under 14 years of age)
My cultural connections.
An overseas visitor is coming to your town for the first time. How would you connect with them?
A place I feel connected to.
The Commonwealth connects people across borders - what can we learn from our neighbours?

Judges described entries to the competition in 2018 as ‘‘fantastically imaginative’, ‘hopeful’, ‘quite exceptional’ and ‘passionate’. We expect a similarly high calibre of writing for 2019.

Keep up to date with the Competition on Twitter and Facebook. You can stay in touch with the RCS by signing up to our newsletter

Benefit:

All entrants receive a Certificate of Participation and one Winner and Runner-up from the Senior and Junior categories will win a trip to London for a week of educational and cultural events. For more information about the competition, please see Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions.

Requirement/ Terms And Condition:

Entries will be disqualified if they fail to meet any of the following requirements:

The competition is open to nationals or residents of all Commonwealth countries and territories, as well as residents of the Maldives and Zimbabwe. Residents of non-Commonwealth countries whose entries are submitted through their local RCS branch are also eligible.
Entrants must select a Senior or Junior topic depending on their age on 1st June 2019. Senior entrants must be born between 2nd June 2000 and 1st June 2005 (14-18) and Junior entrants must be born after 2 June 2005 (under 14 years of age).
The maximum word counts are 1,500 words for Senior entries and 750 words for Junior entries. These word limits apply to all topics and all formats (essay, poem, letter, etc). Exceeding the word count will result in automatic disqualification.
Entries must be written in English.
Only one entry per participant is allowed. Once an essay is submitted, students/teachers will not have the opportunity to revise it. Please carefully check and improve your writing before submitting the final copy, and also ensure that all supplementary information is filled in correctly (name, contact details, topic number, etc.)
Plagiarism is not accepted in the competition. Every year a number of students are disqualified because they are suspected of plagiarism. Please see our guide to plagiarism before submitting.
Final documents should not include the entrants personal details including name, age, school or country. This information should be inputted upon entry.
The final copy submitted for the competition must be the entrant's own work, and cannot be excessively corrected or improved by another person. This does not rule out input or assistance from others but does exclude group entries.
By entering the competition, you agree that your personal details including full name, gender, email, school and essay may be sent to your local RCS branch and any Essay Competition partners. See Clause 4.1.6 of the RCS' Privacy Policy for more information. Please note: Winners and Runners-up of the pan-Commonwealth competition will have their full names, schools, essays and photographs displayed on the RCS website and social media channels.
Essays can only be uploaded as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or in PDF format (.pdf). The online platform does not accept Google Docs (.gdoc), Pages documents (.pages) or other word processor formats. Note: if we are unable to find or open your essay file (either through an incorrect format or upload error), your entry may not be counted in the competition.
All online entries must be submitted before midnight (GMT) on 1st June 2019; any offline entries must arrive at RCS London by 1st May 2019
All entrants retain the copyright rights that they have for the pieces they submit, but by entering The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, each contestant consents to the use of his/her name, and/or pieces or parts thereof in any advertisements, educational materials, corpus research or media and publicity carried out or produced by the Royal Commonwealth Society and its local branches without further notice or compensation. The Royal Commonwealth Society can publish or decline to publish; use or decline to use, any submitted pieces at the Royal Commonwealth Society’s sole discretion.
The RCS suggests that entrants retain a copy of their original work as regretfully we are unable to return or provide copies of submissions.
The RCS retains the right to change the prize of the competition if circumstances make this necessary.
The RCS will only be able to publish on our website and in our literature content that is appropriate for a wide and diverse audience, in line with our own policies. Entrants are encouraged to consider this in relation to their use of language when entering the competition.

How to Enter:

All individuals and schools are encouraged to enter ONLINE if possible, however please note that no entry will be accepted by email.

Submit your entry by post

Offline submissions are very difficult to process and can mean that your entry arrives after the Competition closing date. We will only accept an offline entry where the person submitting has no access to internet and is unable to submit online.

If you are submitting your entry by post, please complete an entry form in block capitals and attach it to the front of your essay. Entries should be sent to your nearest postal hub, details of which are listed below.

Please note that for postal entries, your essay must be received by 1 May 2019 in order to be eligible. We therefore suggest that you send your essay with plenty of time for delivery, as essays received by a postal hub after 1 May will not be considered in the competition.

Europe
The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition
The Royal Commonwealth Society
Commonwealth House
55-58 Pall Mall
London
SW1Y 5JH
UK

Africa
The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition
British High Commission
Julius Nyerere Links
PO Box 296
Accra
Ghana

Americas and the Caribbean
The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition
The Royal Commonwealth Society
P.O. Box 878
Bridgetown
Barbados

Asia
The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition
Education Department
British Council
30 Napier Road
Singapore 258509

Pacific
The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition
PO Box 10-741
Wellington 6143
New Zealand

Please ensure your envelope is clearly labelled with 'The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition'.