Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025/2026: This essay competition provides an opportunity for young Commonwealth citizens to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences on key global issues and have their work and achievement celebrated globally.

The 2025 competition theme is “Community in the Commonwealth”. It is rooted in Commonwealth values, providing interesting introduction to the network and allowing young people to explore their own connection to the Commonwealth, whilst fostering an emphatic and open-minded world view.

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Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025/2026.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, established in 1883. 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.

The Competition invites all young Commonwealth citizens and residents, regardless of region, education or background, to share ideas, celebrate their story and have their voice heard. All entrants and all participating schools 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.

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Eligibility Criteria

Interested applicants for the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025 are to meet the following criteria:

Nationals or residents of all Commonwealth countries and territories, as well as residents of Hong Kong 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.
The maximum word counts are 1,500 words for Senior entries and 750 words for junior.
Only one entry per participants will be accepted.
All entries must be submitted before 23:59 BST on 30^th June 2025; any offline entries must arrive at the Royal Commonwealth Society office in London by 30^th June 2025.