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Two Singaporeans receive The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition awards in Buckingham Palace

LONDON - Gauri Kumar, 14, lived in London for three years until she moved home to Singapore last year.

While she was here, she had only seen Buckingham Palace from the outside. On Wednesday (Oct 26), she and fellow Singaporean Tan Wan Gee, 14, were escorted into the palace, put through a rehearsal and taught how to curtsy.

It was to get them ready to meet Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Duchess was presenting certificates to the two teenagers: Gauri came in tops in the junior category of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, while Wan Gee was the runner-up. The senior category was won by Inessa Rajah from South Africa and the runner-up was Esther Mungalaba from Zambia.

They beat 13,500 others from nearly all the Commonwealth countries, earning themselves a "Winners Week" in London which includes cultural and educational activities such as visits to Cambridge University, Houses of Parliament, The London Evening Standard newspaper, British Library and an award ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

Gauri said she was "extremely nervous" about the royal experience. "I haven't processed it yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to understand in a few days. But I'm still really confused about what's been happening," she said after receiving her award from the Duchess.

Wan Gee described the Duchess as "incredibly nice". She had asked the girls about the inspiration behind their winning essays, which had to reflect on the theme of the competition: An Inclusive Commonwealth.

Founded in 1883, The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world's oldest international schools writing competition. This year drew the most number of entries. Singapore alone sent in 4,585 entries - more than any other country.

The last Singaporean winner was Selina Xu from Nanyang Girls High School, who was senior runner-up in 2014.

The entries were judged by a pan-Commonwealth body of judges from more than 30 countries, who have described the entries as "inspirational", "imaginative" and "moving".

For her winning essay "Tales Of An Insider/Outsider", Gauri, who attends Tanglin Trust School, wrote about her experience of feeling disconnected from her relatives and culture because she does not speak Hindi well.

Wan Gee, who is studying in Temasek Junior College, wrote a poem "Are We Really So Different? Dear Santa", in which she advocated the importance of equality.

The two are voracious readers, with Gauri enjoying dystopian novels and authors like J K Rowling and George Orwell, and Wan Gee finding inspiration in Charles Bukowski and Sylvia Plath.

"There's something about their poetry that resonates with me," said Wan Gee, who confessed to hating poetry before she took a module in school last year.

"I bought a book by Charles Bukowski the other day. It's the way he makes something very ordinary feel very relatable. I really like that kind of expression."

Mr Michael Lake, director of the Royal Commonwealth Society, which organises the competition, said the four winners represent the "very best and brightest that the Commonwealth has to offer".

"Their essays and poems explore contemporary themes with maturity, intelligence and depth beyond their years."

About 70 guests were at the ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to celebrate the young writers' achievements. They included Mr Chia Wei Wen, Deputy High Commissioner for Singapore, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster Abbey and Ms Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark and now CEO of Save the Children International.

Watching on proudly were Gauri's parents and younger sister, and Wan Gee's mother.

The girls are only too aware that when they go back to Singapore, their friends will ask them if they met the Queen. They had words of encouragement for aspiring young writers who might now be inspired to join the competition.

"There's no harm in entering the competition and if you do well, that's the most amazing thing," said Gauri.

Added Wan Gee: "Never give up on your writing. You never know where it'll take you, for example, here."

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As a primary school pupil, Janine Shum felt like she was invisible.

Her grades were not outstanding, she said, and nor was she particularly talented in sports or music.

So when she decided to enter the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition this year, it was this experience she drew on - and the authenticity of it scored her the title of junior winner.

Janine, 13, a first-year student in National Junior College's Integrated Programme, submitted a poem written from the perspectives of an Afghan girl and a Singaporean girl.

She said she tried to encapsulate the issues both characters face - the Afghan girl faces persecution for her pursuit of education, while the Singaporean girl feels stifled and lost in the race towards perfection.

Janine said: "They both feel 'disempowered' in different ways. But what they need is the same - to be loved and heard, and to have a good, kind education system to help them grow and be nurtured as a person."

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The Singaporean character, she said, came from the heart.

Dr Diana Owen, director-general of the non-profit Royal Over-Seas League and chair of the panel of judges for the junior category, said: "(Janine) gets into the mind of someone in a war-torn country as well as her own and has created a complex structure that works at both levels. It is technically remarkable with a mature, subtle and political approach."

Of the four winners selected out of 12,000 participants this year, two were Singaporean - Janine and 16-year-old Ng Woon Neng, who was runner-up in the senior category.

The other two winners were girls from Pakistan and Canada. The competition has been run by The Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883.

Woon Neng, a Nanyang Girls' High School student, submitted a short story on her view of wealth, health, freedom and happiness.

To her, wealth looks like an impeccably dressed businessman.

Health is an average teenager, Freedom is personified by a fatigued war veteran and happiness takes the form of a child.

Said Woon Neng: "I believe that being happy makes life worthwhile, but it is also a choice.

"That is not to say we do not chase after dreams for more, but perhaps we should also first recognise we do have enough."

The winners will get a free trip to London next month for a week of educational and cultural events, including an award ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

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Singapore's Czaana Saxena Bags Gold in Queen's Commonwealth Essay Contest Finals

• By Trishna Das Updated May 27, 2021 20:25 +08

The satisfaction that is brought by achieving life goals is unparalleled. An 11-year-old Indian-origin Czaana Saxena living in Singapore is familiar with that feeling after receiving many accolades and most recently the prestigious gold finalist award in the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2020. Out of 13,000 students from 58 countries, Czaana managed to secure the gold finalist award, giving her the much-needed boost at such a young age.

Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world's oldest and largest schools' international writing competition, which is run by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. Past winners include the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr Lee Hsien Loong and author and journalist Elspeth Huxley. The young student from Temasek Primary School is now among the few who can say with pride that they won the prestigious award in the globally-renowned writing contest.

"With automation, AI, and machines taking over, human progress will be dependent on our ability to think differently, and convincing others of cool and progressive ideas. That is where the power of writing and debating comes in. Being good with words is not just fun, but a real skill for the future. You can't lead if you can't persuade." Czaana says.

Czaana Saxena and her Passion for Writing

Czaana Saxena developed interest in writing at an early age and is taking the path to fulfilling her passion. At the age of just 8, her story on Suppandi , her favourite character, was published in India's best-selling kids magazine Tinkle.

"I am hugely inspired by Dorothy Vaughan and India's Jansi-ki-Rani who were both very progressive and challenged many norms." She said.

"I'm blessed to have great teachers and mentors. My mother has always kept us excited about stories from India and the world, and my father is involved and encouraging me to write and debate more often. My brother is quite a funny and annoying character, the stereotype you find in books, but I know he is elated when I do well."

But it was her essay, titled "Intimations of Immortality" that won her the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition award that moved its readers. Taking inspiration from the real-world, Czaana offered realistic solution to the worsening climate crisis. "I wanted to ensure that we don't just talk about the issue but actually do something about it. Real change comes from discussing solutions, not problems," she said.

Her young age did not stop her from achieving her dreams. In fact, she was even listed among 25 young creators across Singapore, which allowed her to present her innovation to Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information, Mr S. Iswaran, who was thoroughly impressed.

"The story was very creative and conveys an important message of inclusion – physical book & digital book," the minister said, referring to the QR-coded innovation of 'Eureka: Respecting Diversity' a multi-format book the team created.

On being asked what keeps her going, the young girl joyfully replied, "'You're good!' is really powerful. To both receive it and offer it can be hugely motivating."

Czaana further credited Singapore's education system and the schools, which allowed her to broaden her knowledge. "Singapore has an amazing spectrum of schools. School of the Arts (SOTA) is a dream to explore your inner artist alongside academics . Others like Raffles Girls School have a broad spectrum of activities to choose from. It isn't like what my parents tell me about their time. Just walk into any library in Singapore. They are all equipped with books on pretty much everything under the sun; from dance to science to fiction to poetry," Czaana said.

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, established in 1883. This year, it received a record-breaking 26,300 entries from different countries in the commonwealth.

The English department is proud to announce the results of our students’ participation in this year’s competition. A total of 21 student writers participated and we are proud to announce the school’s first Gold Award writer, Sherlyn Ang (Sec 3/2). In addition, we congratulate our Silver Award, Bronze Award and Certificate of Participation writers. Here is a list of our budding writers:

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Commonwealth Essay Competition

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing contest, established in 1883. Each year, entrants write on a theme that explores the Commonwealth’s values, fostering an empathetic world view in the next generation of leaders and encouraging young people to consider new perspectives to the challenges that the world faces. Themes have included the environment, community, inclusion, the role of youth leadership, and gender equality. In 2022, the competition theme was ‘Our Commonwealth’, reflecting on Queen Elizabeth II’s seven decades of service to the Commonwealth.

2022 saw a record-breaking 26,322 entries to the QCEC from every Commonwealth region, with the winners and runners-up from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, India and Singapore.  We are pleased to share that the following Whitleyeans have received certificates of participation, bronze, silver and gold awards. 

Duy Khang - 3I

Elynn Sia - 1E

Isabella - 2D

Jonathan - 3R

Meng Jia - 3R

News | London

Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition winners meet Camilla and visit Standard’s new office

Buckingham Palace has hosted a reception for the winners of a global writing competition - who also enjoyed a tour of the Evening Standard’s new office.

The reception, hosted by Camilla, The Queen Consort, welcomed the prize winners of this year’s Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition and their families on Thursday.

During the event and following her Majesty’s speech to the attendees, Royal Commonwealth Society ambassadors read out extracts from the four winning pieces.

One of those was by an east London student, Amaal Fawzi, 17, who was a runner-up in this year’s competition. Her winning poem ‘Nursing Homes’ came second in the senior category.

The Queen Consort spoke of the “deep” links that run between the nations of the Commontwealth.

She said: “All of us are bound together by a profound appreciation of the written word and of our Commonwealth. This wonderful, extraordinary, richly diverse association of independent and equal nations and friends is, truly, ‘ours’, belonging to each one of us, and the connections between us run deep.”

Amongst the attendees were the competition’s 2020 and 2021 winners, who could not attend the awards ceremony in previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The winners, who are aged between 13-17 years old and travelled from New Zealand, Australia, India, Singapore, Uganda and the UK, were awarded their certificates by The Queen Consort. Extracts from their winning pieces were read by RCS Ambassadors Geri Horner, Alexandra Burke and Ayesha Dharker, as well as Booker Prize winner Ben Okri.

RCS Ambassador Gyles Brandreth acted as compère for the ceremony, during which The Queen Consort and the RCS Executive Chair, Dr Linda Yueh, spoke about the importance of the competition to elevate the voices of young people around the Commonwealth.

Dr Yueh said: “In 2022, we asked children around the Commonwealth to reflect on the inspiring example of the steadfast commitment Queen Elizabeth II gave to our Commonwealth family for over 70 years.

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“As the Patron of our Society, we were immensely grateful to The late Queen for her unstinting support of our efforts to improve literacy across the Commonwealth.”

“We are deeply honoured that Her Majesty The Queen Consort, like late Queen Elizabeth II, is tireless in her own support for this important competition and its ability to improve the lives and prospects of children around the Commonwealth,” she said.

The ceremony is one of several events the group attended in the week, which included a visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, workshops with actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a tour and journalism workshop at the Evening Standard.

Their visit to the newspaper’s new office in AlphaBeta Building in Finsbury Square, included a talk by the Evening Standard and Independent’s editor emeritus, Doug Wills, as well as a walk through the paper’s history and evolution, by David Marsland. They were told of the paper’s rich history and relationship with novelist and playwright, Charles Dickens, who wrote short plays and articles that were published by it. Other key figures who were mentioned for their significance to the paper were the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, and Emeline Pankhurst.

The paper’s space in the digital sphere was also discussed, and a glimpse into its London Live television channel shown. The interactive workshop involved contributions from the winners and their families, who made suggestions on what more the paper could cover. One suggestion was the impact of carbon taxes in the UK, and another was for better representation of Arabs in the western media.

The Evening Standard spoke to two of the attendees. Ethan Mufuma, from Uganda, who was the junior winner in 2021, said he was inspired to enter the competition by a friend, who had previously earned a certificate at it.

Speaking about his winning entry, he said: “My piece was centred at a local community story. I think this was very inspiring. ‘Okware’, a local name that I chose to represent my pandemic hero, made my piece wear that originality.”

He said another reason he entered was so he could “add a voice in the fight against the pandemic”.

“In my country, people don’t get information easily. One can take a month without accessing radio news. Peple, especially in local areas, depend on hearsay. Rememeber the pandemic required a lot of information. There was much of ‘do this, do that’, so I entered the competition to help share informatio regarding the control of the pandemic,” he said.

On the journalism workshop, Ethan said he “loved the way we were all engaged all the time”.

He said: “Sometimes, back when I was writing for my school’s newspaper, I remember the teacher emphasising the need to tell the truth in news, and the same thing the workshop emphasised. It’s like journalism and truth are twins.”

Of the award ceremony, he added “no exact word can tell the real feelings”.

“So amazing, very historical, very perfect in the way events keep changing. Someone has to be part of this to understand it all,” he said.

Maulika Pandey, 13, who was a junior runner-up in this year’s competition told us about her entry, ‘The Molai Forest’.

“My entry is about an Indian, Jadav Molai Payeng, from Assam, the Forest Man of India, because he managed to create a forest over the span of 40 years with his own hands. He taught me that things take time to happen and the fact that he continued to planting trees for 40 years, taught that doing little things can create a big result,” she said.

She said her favourite moment of the award ceremony was “definitely when I got to meet The Queen Consort”.

“Our winners really enjoyed their visit to the Evening Standard newsroom and relished the opportunity to talk to ES journalists. This visit has certainly opened their eyes to the possibility of a career in journalism,” Sophie Spencer, Programme Officer at the Royal Commonwealth Society, told the Evening Standard.

She added: “The award ceremony at Buckingham Palace was a life-changing experience for our young winners. It is really special to have their writing celebrated in such a way and it is an incredible boost to their confidence as they embark on their writing careers.”

Following the workshop, the group took a tour of the Evening Standard and The Independent’s newsrooms, including a chat with the former’s digital team, before ending with a photograph.

The Commonwealth Essay Competition, which has engaged around 140, 000 young people, more than 5, 000 schools, and many thousands of volunteer judges across the Commonwealth, in the last decade.

At 26, 322, this year saw the largest number of entries since the competition began in 1883.

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Christabel, Rui Yu among gold winners in Commonwealth essay competition

Christabel Lau

KUCHING (Oct 5): Christabel Lau and Ong Rui Yu of St Joseph’s International School (SJIS) here were among 171 gold finalists out of 25,648 participants in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2021.

According to a press statement, the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC), which was established in 1883, is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools.

With thousands of young people taking part each year, it is an important way to recognise achievement, elevate youth voices and develop key skills through creative writing.

This year’s competition is themed ‘Community in the Commonwealth.’

For Lau, participating in competitions like QCEC allowed her to explore the depths of her creativity and expand her knowledge on what was happening around her.

“It took about a week for me to come up with different ideas on how I’d want the story to go. The story concept had been revised thrice before I was set on the current concept.

“It was my goal to make the drafting journey as fun as possible and it took about two months before I came up with a final draft that I was proud of,” she said.

She thanked her English teacher Ann Armstrong for introducing a variety of writing competitions last year and encouraging her students to participate in them.

“I probably wouldn’t have been aware of the QCEC without her. It was also because of her that I was able to improve my writing skills so drastically,” she said and encouraged students to challenge themselves in writing competitions.

“You really do learn and gain a lot of awareness on a variety of topics such as climate change, life and so on.”

Ong meanwhile chose to write on the topic ‘Keeping Connected through the Covid-19.’

“It was a challenge to gather my thoughts and feelings about an ongoing pandemic when all I wanted to do was escape from this world. It took one month of many idea changes, drafts, and edits before this work today.

”I wanted to show people and document their experiences – both highs and lows. Major sources of inspiration were ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel and two pieces of music – ‘Moon Song’ by Karen O and ‘I’m Forrest…Forrest Gump’ by Alan Silvestri,” she said.

When Ong heard that she was one of the gold finalists, she said the news came like a “spring breeze amidst a period of stressful studying.”

“I felt grateful that God has granted me this achievement and I was pleased that my results have improved compared to last year’s Silver.

“I hope to hone my skills even more to achieve Winner next year if God wills it,” she said.

She encouraged aspiring writers to read more to expose themselves to different ways of expressions; to know what they’re trying to convey and to be creative.

“Understand your audience. QCEC is searching for creative, profound works and it’s an avenue to spill your hearts out. Most importantly, don’t stop halfway,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lydia Ting, also from SJIS, achieved a Silver Award from QCEC.

“It took me around five days to finish the essay and when news reached me that I had won Silver, I was very surprised and glad as it was really unexpected.

“I am beyond grateful and privileged to receive this award,” she said and thanked Armstrong for introducing and encouraging both her and her classmates to join this competition.

She said joining QCEC had opened her eyes and motivated her to become a better version of herself.

“I would like to encourage other students to join because you never know what you can achieve if you don’t try. Anything is possible if you set your heart on it and work hard.

“I myself am looking forward to writing again in the future,” said Ting.

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Winners of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2021

Heartiest congratulations for the winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition – the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, established in 1883.

Gold Award Winners 

• Senugi Wijesinghe –   Senior Category (Year 11 Com)
• Binuthi Sithumya Gangodagedara –  Senior Category (Year 11 Sc2)
• Chanumi Nanayakkara – Junior Category

Silver Award Winners

• Thirani Perera –- Senior Category (Year11 Sc2)
• Kavya Sammodini Weerasuriya  – Senior Category (Year12 Sc1)
• Liana Perera    – ( Year10 Com 1)

Bronze award winner

• Danel Silva –- Junior Category

You are winner today because you seized the opportunity when it was opened up for you and you were determined to do your best in what you do.

For that we are proud of you!

Young writers from Zambia and Singapore receive prizes at Buckingham Palace Award Ceremony

On Wednesday 26 October the Winners and Runners-up of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2016 attended an Award Ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

On Wednesday 26 October the winners and runners-ups of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2016 attended an Award Ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The special reception was hosted by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

Junior Winner Gauri Kumar, 14, from Singapore; Senior Runner-up Esther Mungalaba, 19, from Lusaka, Zambia and Junior Runner-up Tan Wan Gee, 14, also from Singapore were each presented with their certificates by The Duchess. Senior Winner Inessa Rajah, from South Africa, was unable to attend the Award Ceremony. She will, however, celebrate her achievement with the Royal Commonwealth Society during Commonwealth Week in March 2017. 

The young writers were flown to London for Winners’ Week – a week-long programme of cultural and educational activities, including a tour of Parliament and a day trip to Cambridge, the latter organised by the competition’s sponsor, Cambridge University Press.

Among the 70 guests at the reception were Children’s Laureate, illustrator Chris Riddell and representatives from the Governments of Singapore and Zambia. Commonwealth organisations were also represented with guests including Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Minister for the Middle East and Africa, Tobias Ellwood MP, Director of The Queen’s Trust, Nicola Brentnall MVO and other prominent figures.

Awarded for their submissions on the 2016 competition theme ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth,’ the Winners explored contemporary topics including the struggle to find a diasporic identity, the importance of equality and the global migrant crisis.

Gauri Kumar said: “Winners’ Week has been amazing, Buckingham Palace is breathtaking.”

Gauri continued: “The topic of my essay is a very pertinent issue with my family and it comes up a lot.”

On speaking with HRH The Duchess of Cornwall at the event Tan Wan Gee said: “She asked me about what inspired me to write my poem. She was incredibly nice.”

Esther Mungalaba said: “Buckingham Palace is beautiful. It feels overwhelming to be here and with such important people.”

On her advice to young aspiring writers Esther said: “If you really love writing or have an idea that you feel even one person in the world should know about then you should take this step and find out more about the essay competition, you won’t regret it.”

Claire Whitaker OBE said: “As the Chair of Trustees of the Royal Commonwealth Society, I am immensely proud of our work in facilitating this essay competition in the name of our patron, Her Majesty The Queen. The success of this year’s competition is a testament to the continuing importance and relevance of the Commonwealth and its values for young people.”

Photo: David Madden

Notes to editors:

Find out more information about the Competition, and the Winners and Runners-up

Senior Winner: Dr. Congo-man, Inessa Rajah, South Africa, aged 17

Senior Runner-up: Let Them In: A Short Discourse Outlining How Complicated These Three Words Can Be, Esther Mungalaba, Zambia, aged 19

Junior Winner: Untitled, Gauri Kumar, Singapore, aged 14

Junior Runner up: Are We Really So Different?/ Dear Santa, Tan Wan Gee, Singapore, aged 14

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition was founded in 1883 and is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing contest. The competition is sponsored by Cambridge University Press and received approximately 13,500 entries from almost every country in the Commonwealth.

The theme of the 2016 competition was An Inclusive Commonwealth, which is also the 2016 Commonwealth Year theme.

The 2017 competition was launched on 21 September 2016, International Day of Peace, with the theme 'A Commonwealth for Peace', reflecting the overall 2017 Commonwealth theme 'A peace-building Commonwealth'.

The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) , founded in 1868, is a network of individuals and organisations committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens across the world. Through youth empowerment, education and advocacy, the RCS promotes the value and values of the Commonwealth. 

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world’s oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press has been a sponsor of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition since 2013. 

Media enquiries:

Rachel Ilett, Media and Communications Officer, The Royal Commonwealth Society E: [email protected] |T: +44 (0)20 3727 4311 | M: +44 (0)7718 476 234

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition 2021

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay competition is an annual writing competition. Students were required to write creative essays keeping in mind the theme for this year which is Community in Commonwealth, coming together despite the adversities faced with Covid-19.

Saya Boleh Mengarang 2021

Seven of our ML students from Primary 1 to Primary 5 took part in a nationwide composition writing competition, ‘Saya Boleh Mengarang!’ organised by Edufront Learning Centre in September. The students competed against 130 other students within their level and two of our Mee Tohians were shortlisted to enter the finals: Rean Danyal (P2-4) and Naimi Sabrina (P4-4). All finalists had to produce a piece of creative writing within an hour live via Zoom against other competitors on a Saturday morning. This competition not only challenged their creativity, it also bolstered their confidence in writing. Congratulations to all our participants!

Kartunis Cilik 2021

A few of our Primary 5 Malay Language students participated in an annual online competition ‘Kartunis Cilik 2021’ (Young Cartoonist) organised by White Sands Primary School where participants need to either use an online comic application (Pixton) or hand-draw their comic submissions based on proverbs in the syllabus. The proverbs were randomly allocated to every school and the entries were judged based on language, content, humour and presentation.

The MTL dept is proud to announce that Emelda P5-5 and Ashraf Faris P5-7 won the second and fifth places respectively beating participants from 62 other schools! You can view the announcement on the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee (MLLPC) Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MLLPC/videos/210644704463232/.

Kartunis Cilik 2021 - Ashraf P5-7

Kartunis Cilik 2021 - Emelda P5-5

Mathematics Department 2021 Achievements

Singapore mathematical olympiad for primary schools (smops).

NATIONAL MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD SINGAPORE (NMOS)

ANNUAL MATHLYMPICS FOR ALL SINGAPORE PRIMARY SCHOOLS

SINGAPORE AND ASIAN SCHOOL MATH OLYMPIAD (SASMO)

Mathematics Department 2019 Achievements

Singapore and asian school math olympiad (sasmo).

Singapore Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (SMOPS)

Raffles Institution’s Primary Mathematics World Contest

MAS-ESS Essay Competition 2021 Winners

28 April 2021 12:00:00 AM

ESS Secretariat Economic Society of Singapore c/o Department of Economics

National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link Singapore 117570

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The Society re-launched on 14-Mar-2016

The Royal Commonwealth Society - Singapore  was re-launched on 14 Mar 2016.

The Society will be primarily involved in the advertising and selection process for the new Fellowships and Scholarships for Singaporeans in Innovation alongside the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC); encouraging study in the United Kingdom. 

Notable Commonwealth Scholars include Mr.  Abdullah Tarmugi, former Speaker of the Singapore Parliment and Professor Walter Woon, former Attorney-General of Singapore and Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, President of NUS; amongst several others.

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The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest schools’ international writing competition, managed by The Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. Every year, it offers all Commonwealth youth aged 18 and under the opportunity to express their hopes for the future, opinions of the present and thoughts on the past, through the written word.

The closing date for the essay competition is 1 June 2020. Click More Info below to sign up and submit your entry.

Fellowships in Innovation

The Singapore Commonwealth Fellowships in Innovation were launched on 14 Mar 2016, together with the re-launch of the Society; for Innovation subjects in the United Kingdom.

The Fellowships are for short term placements, up to 3 months, for Singapore Professionals to have a study placement of their choice in academia or in industry in the United Kingdom.

The closing date for application is on 15 June 2020. For more details, email to [email protected] .​

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition Workshop

Every year, we form a dedicated team to guide interested and potential students for The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, in the Junior Category. This year is no different.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is one of the most prestigious and widely recognised essay competitions for students globally. As an English centre, we are thrilled to help interested students make full use of this opportunity to build their portfolio — which is a fine addition to their future DSA or scholarship applications. The Junior Category caters specifically to students under 14 years of age born on or after 1 July 2007.

The workshop will be led by Mr Azrael Tseng, our Head of the O Levels with more than 10 years of experience teaching English locally and internationally, in both the public and private sectors. Over the years, we have seen many of our students achieve remarkable results in the competition from the Bronze Award to the Gold Finalist Award.

This March holiday, Academia has planned a 3-day intensive workshop to get interested students started on their journey before the final submission deadline. Your child will experience creative writing exercises adapted from literary fine arts workshops and review analytical content for the competition theme. We will also cover various literary techniques in prose and poetry to elevate their writing to a global standard.

Workshop details:

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition Workshop (Junior Category)

500 (before GST) 16 - 18 March (Tuesday - Thursday) 1 - 4pm

Online and On-Campus options available

The course will be continued with guidance from Mr Azrael Tseng and his team throughout the period till the final submission. All registered students will be enrolled in a QCW Essay Competition course on Cogito to receive dedicated feedback on their drafts.

Registrations. Now Open.

Many of you have already expressed your interest to us. We are glad to announce that you may register for this workshop now. Contact us directly via our official WhatsApp channel linked via the chat button located on the bottom right hand corner.

We encourage you to register early and as soon as possible to secure your slot. This is because there are limited slots we can offer due to class size restrictions as well as to maintain the quality of the workshop. Rest assured we will do our best to accommodate all requests within reasonable means.

Academia Privileges

All registered Academia students are entitled to an exclusive 20% discount on this workshop.

Should you have any further enquiries, please feel free to contact us at the same channel listed above!

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• Jun 23, 2021

Commonwealth Essay Contest 2021

How I won the Gold Finalist Award - and what it meant to me.

Hello! It’s been a long time since we’ve last talked – I really do apologise for that as I was really busy with exams, but I’m back with some good news! Recently, I took part in the Senior Category of Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition and walked away with a Gold Finalist Award. This means that out of more than 26 thousand entries this year, my entry was one of 171 selected by the final judging panel to be considered as candidates for winner and runner-up! In this entry, I will be detailing more about this wonderful experience, attaching my essay at the back in case anyone wants to read it!

My relationship with writing has always been somewhat of a love-hate relationship. I know, it’s surprising, considering I run a language blog here, but I used to average only about 27.5/40 for compositions back in elementary school.

Ever since I entered middle school, though, I began taking a special interest in writing. Perhaps it was because my friends had all ventured a little into the world of writing, but I joined them and posted some of my essays online. In the early days, my stories were so bad that I can’t even bear to look back at them now, but eventually with feedback and practice, I improved greatly.

I’m really proud of my growth as a writer – comparing one of my unbearably cringey, completely illogical stories with the type of fiction I produce now, although I can’t say I’m perfect, I think I’ve improved greatly. Every bit of encouragement I received along the way pushed me along as a writer, giving me motivation and inspiration to continue struggling against writer’s block and time constraints without giving up.

Lately, however, I’d been feeling a slight aversion to writing. I didn’t know whether it was because I had no time or simply no motivation – I couldn’t even brush it off as writer’s block since I had so many ideas, but just no ability to put them on paper. My confidence as a writer declined significantly, with me looking at my empty Google Documents less and less.

I’d stopped uploading my stories online at that point. In hindsight, it was probably the lack of feedback, encouragement and validation that caused me to lose interest in writing and confidence in myself. And at this critical point the results of the Commonwealth Essay Competition came in.

In June, when I’d applied, I had been expecting a Silver Award – or maybe Gold at best, since my friends had received both of these awards before and I thought that we were at about the same level when it came to writing. I’d completely forgotten about it come September until my father reminded me to check my email after seeing the announcement of the winners on his Facebook.

To my utmost pleasant surprise, I opened the email to see a certificate proclaiming me to be a Gold Finalist.

I didn’t know what to feel at that moment. At the same time, I was proud, surprised, delighted… but most of all, it felt like my writing had been validated once more, and that I was capable of writing good essays unlike what my self-deprecation had been telling me – that I hated my own stories, that nobody else would like them. And it restored my confidence in writing. I picked up my unfinished Google Documents from a long time ago. I began writing again, realising that if I didn’t tell the stories living in my head nobody else would. I didn’t hate every single sentence I wrote anymore.

I was happy, happy with my writing, happy for myself that I’d won the award, and so much more.

Here, I think it’d be a good idea to talk a little about the actual content of the essay that I submitted. I wrote about communication in the times of COVID-19, then linked it to homing pigeons and carrier pigeons to show that communication will never be limited as long as people are willing to make the effort to try, even amidst this pandemic.

If you’re curious, you can read my work at the link below! (Click on the words link below )

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THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION 2019

From more than 11,000 entries, five pieces were selected as the winners and runners-up of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019. The 2019 winners and runners-up were drawn from across the Commonwealth and wrote inspiring poems, stories and narratives on the topic 'A Connected Commonwealth'.

Senior Winner: Catherine Wang Canada

Catherine’s haunting poem ‘Beached’ follows the heart-breaking experience of three passers-by as they find a whale washed up on a beach. Through vivid, lyrical descriptions, she highlights the importance of working together to resolve the problems of environmental damage. She is a student of the University Transition Program at the University of British Colombia. On being told of her success she said, “It was an emotional rollercoaster, with the cart slowly climbing in disbelief, only to suddenly become pure excitement upon the descent’’.

Senior Runner-Up: Nnemdi Ozoemena Nigeria

Nnemdi's story ‘Hello’ is the tale of two young people struggling with issues in their society and who do not feel truly appreciated for whom they are, but who find common ground and become friends, told through direct messages on Twitter. One Final Panel Judge described the piece as ‘a shop window of how youth are speaking to each other today’. On being named Senior Runner-up, she said ‘‘It feels really good to know that my portrayal of issues that I view as important was able to come through to people and hopefully make them feel something.’’

Junior Winner:

Veronica Shen Singapore

Veronica’s poem ‘Lost’ follows the story of a girl growing up in China as it explores a complicated relationship with the country’s past. She entered the competition as a student of Raffles Girls' School (Secondary). Veronica chose to write on the topic ‘My Cultural Connections’ because she ‘’wished to express my own feelings…and present an issue while developing the art of writing.’’  When informed of her success in the competition, Veronica felt ‘Surprise, elation’.

Junior Runner-Up: Elise Jensen Ghana

Elise’s poem ‘A place you feel connected to’ is a vibrant, vivid celebration of her favourite elements of Ghanaian culture; a welcoming tale of food, dancing, clothing and the ties she feels to the country.  Dr Diana Owen OBE, Director General of the Royal Over-Seas League and Chair of the Junior Final Panel, said of Elise’s poem, ‘A heartfelt hymn to Ghana, lively, bright, optimistic, playful and confident.’ Upon learning she had won, Elise felt ‘very excited, surprised and very happy!’

Junior Runner-Up: Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa Sri Lanka 

Kieran's beautifully vivid narrative describing his move from the United States of America to Sri Lanka wonderfully captures the sights and sounds of his daily life in Colombo. Drawing on his 'diverse cultural connections', Kieran explores the beauty of his Commonwealth heritage. Tragically, Kieran was killed in the suicide bomb that exploded in the Cinnamon Grand hotel, Colombo, on Easter Sunday 2019. He was so proud of this piece - having obtained the top mark in his class - and his mum was very keen that it be submitted posthumously.