Every year, the Commonwealth Essay Competition inspires thousands of young writers from all over the world. Organised by the RCS, this international youth writing contest has been running for over 100 years - the world's oldest and largest - and is a highly regarded and popular international education project.
Open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or under, the Essay Competition offers young people the opportunity to make their voice heard on a global platform, encouraging students to engage with issues which are important to them.
Over 1,000 entries for the 2012 competition were selected for awards.
2013 Essay Competition now open!
The 2013 Essay Competition is now open for entries, for more details click here.
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Prince Charles Meets Essay Competition Participants
Monday 18 February 2013
On Monday 18 February, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales met students taking part in this year's Commonwealth Essay Competition
As part of an exciting day-long seminar on the 2013 Commonwealth Theme 'Opportunity through Enterprise', students aged 12 - 18 years-old attended a creative-writing workshop, where they used the Commonwealth Essay Competition as a vehicle to explore different ways of expressing their views. The students then presented their opinions on tackling youth unemployment in the Commonwealth to The Prince.
Schools that took part include Hellesdon High School, Norfolk; Impington Village College, Cambridge; Parkside Community College, Cambridge; Southfield School for Girls, Kettering; and Westminster Academy, London.
The day coincided with the recent launch of an online submission platform, through which students across the Commonwealth can quickly and easily submit their essays here.
Run by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883, the Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world's oldest and largest schools' international writing competition. For 2013 the competition is being run in partnership with Cambridge University Press, who will help attract new audiences to the competition.
This event comes in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Day Observance which will be taking place in Westminster Abbey on Monday 11 March, and will formally launch the Opportunity through Enterprise theme in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and 2000 guests.
Too old for the Commonwealth Essay Competition?
The Commonwealth Book Prize and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize are now open for entry. The prizes are a part of a new initiative from the Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Writers - an online hub to inspire, inform and motivate a community of writers from all over the world.