Ten students from Mark Rutherford School are celebrating their success in an international essay writing competition run by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS).
More than 13,000 young people from across the Commonwealth entered the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay competition run by the RCS, which has a rich history of promoting literacy, expression and creativity by celebrating the excellence and imagination of young people.
Seven Mark Rutherford students successfully secured a Bronze Award, a further two students achieved a Silver Award, whilst one student, Ben, was proud to be the first student to receive a Gold Award in the school’s history.
The final judging decision was made by an expert panel of authors, journalists and poets, which included the writer Anthony Horowitz; written word poet Suli Breaks; journalist Matthew Parris; novelist Wendy Holden; award-winning young adult author Zalika Reid-Benta; and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize winner and poet, Sia Figiel.
Speaking to the RCS on his judging experience, Anthony Horowitz stated “I was struck by the extraordinary variety, the high quality of the writing… There was a sense that these young writers, inspired by Greta Thunberg, are not only aware of the global challenges that they face but are more prepared to tackle them than my own generation.
“With everything that 2020 has thrown at us, it’s hard to be forward-looking and positive. The joy of these essays was that so many of them were.”
The international schools’ writing contest used the theme of ‘Climate Action and the Commonwealth’ to encourage students to consider how they can work to use cultural, technological and environmental connections for positive change across the Commonwealth.
Topics invited young people to consider the potential of the Commonwealth in strengthening the vast and varied links between citizens through inspiring poems, essays and narratives.
