The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), Cayman Islands Branch, and Her Excellency the Governor, will host an awards reception for winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition today, Wednesday, 30 October at Government House on Seven Mile Beach. The competition is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing contest. 

At the reception, some of the 148 students from schools across the Cayman Islands will be recognised for their literary achievements between 2015 and 2024. The RCS has not held an awards ceremony since 2015. 

The Cayman Islands has maintained a tradition of excellence in the competition with winners in both the Junior and Senior categories. In 2015 thirteen-year-old Martina Watler was selected as the Junior Runner-Up of The Queen’s Essay Competition, from more than 7200 Junior entries. Watler, who is now a student at the University of Florida in the United States will share her experience and reflect on her journey at the reception. 

Other speakers will include Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs Jane Owen and Premier, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, and Jamaican Kwame McPherson, winner of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story prize. 

The reception will be the last for Lemuel Hurlston, in the capacity of President of the Cayman Islands Branch of the RCS. He will retire at the end of 2024 after serving for fourteen years. His successor, Professor John-Paul Clarke is an educator and trail-blazing professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at the University of Texas in the United States and holder of the Ernest Cockrell Jr Memorial Chair in Engineering. 

The 2024 competition attracted over 34,000 entries, with students from 54 of the 56 Commonwealth countries participating. The 2025 competition will open on 14 March 2025.

Notes

To meet the winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024 and read the winning essays:

Meet the winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2024! (royalcwsociety.org)

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition was founded in 1883 and is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing contest. For 2024 the competition was sponsored by Lagos State Government and a record-breaking 34, 939 entries were received from all Commonwealth regions. 

The Junior category is open to entrants aged 13 years and under, and the Senior category is open to entrants aged 14 – 18 years. 

The theme of the 2024 competition was, ‘Our Common Wealth’. 

The Royal Commonwealth Society is a network of individuals and organisations committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens across the world. Founded in 1868, the Society is constituted by Royal Charter (amended 2013) and is a charity in England and Wales (226748). The Society engages with its youth, civil society, business and governmental networks to address issues that matter to the citizens of the Commonwealth. Its primary focus is the promotion of young people throughout the Commonwealth. www.thercs.org