2009 Commonwealth

8/14/2019 2009 Commonwealth

1/12


2/12

2

TheModernCommo

nwealth

3

Competition

Aims

4

Prizes

5

Topics

6

Rules

8

Guidancefor

Candidates

9

HowtoEnte

r

10

EntryForm

11


3/12

3

TheCommonwealthisauniqueglobalfamilyof53membercountries,encompassingamu

ltitudeofcultures,relig

ionsandinstitutions.FromAfricatoAsia,fromthePacifictotheCaribbean,fromEuropetoNorthAmerica,theCommonwealths1.8billionpeoplemakeupaquarteroftheworldspopulation.Moreover,halfofthepopulationoftheCommonwealthisaged25orunder.Commonwealthcountriesref

lecteverystageofeconomicdevelopment,fromleastdevelopedandhighlyindebtedtowealthyandindustrialised,andrangeinsizefromaPacificislandlikeNauru,withapopulationof10,000,toIndia,whichis1000millionstrong.YetmembersemphasiseEnglishasacommonworkinglanguageandsharesimilarsystemsoflaw,publ

icadministrationandeducation.ThemodernCommonwealthevolvedoutofBritainsimperialpast.ThisprocesswassetinmotionwithIndiaandPakistansindependencein1947andsealedbytheLondonDeclarationof1949,wherethewordBritishwas

droppedfromtheassociationstitletoreflectthenewreality.Inthefollowingtwodecades,theCommonwealth,withitscommitmenttoracialequality

andnationalsovereignty,becameanaturalassociationofchoiceformanynewlyindependentnations.Issuesofracial

justicebecamekeyastheCommonwealththrewitsweight

behindthecauseoffreedomandequality.

TheCommonwealthhasthusbecomeavibrantandgrowingassociationofstatesintunewiththemodernworld.In1991,theHarareCommonwealthDeclarationsettheassociationfirmlyonanewcourse,

promotingdemoc

racy,goodgovernance,humanrights,theruleoflaw,andsustainableeconomicandsocialdevelopment.Today,theCommonwealthcontinuestobeanactiveforceinglobalaffairs,helpingtobuildconsensusaroundtheworld.Fromaclubofformercolonies,ithasgrownintoamoderninternationalassociation

proudofitsdiversityandreadytomeetthechallengesofthefuture.


4/12

4

Everyyear,theCommo

nwealthEssayCompetiti

oninspires

thousandsofyoungwrit

ersfromalloverthewo

rld.Organisedby

theRoyalCommonwealth

Society,theCompetition

hasbeen

runningforover100yearsandisfirmlyesta

blishedasahighly

regardedandpopularin

ternationaleducationpro

ject,enjoying

muchesteemandsuppor

tthroughouttheComm

onwealth.

TheaimsoftheCom

monwealthEssayCo

mpetitionare:

Toprovideauniqueopportunityforschools

throughoutthe

Commonwealthtotake

partinaglobaleducatio

nalproject.

TopromotetheuseofE

nglishasaleadingworld

languagein

afun,attractiveway.

Toenableyoungpeople,whatevertheirs

ocialorscholastic

background,tocompete

onequaltermswiththeirpeersfrom

aroundtheworld.

Toencourageyoungpeo

pletoaspiretohighstan

dardsof

academicscholarshipan

dcreativewriting.

Tostimulateyoungpeopleintogoodutilisat

ionofmodern

informationtechnologya

ndcommunicationskills.

Tohighlightimportantlo

caland

globalissuesandencour

agetheir

discussioninapositivem

anner.

Toraiseawarenessofth

e

ethicalandhumanitarianvalues

whichlieattheheartof

the

Commonwealthsethos

.

TheCompetitioniso

rganisedinfourageb

ands.

Theseare:

ClassA 16-18years

ClassB 14-15years

ClassC 12-13ye

ars

ClassD under12yea

rs

DEADLINEFOREN

TRIESTOREACHT

HEROYAL

COMMONWEAL

THSOCIETYIS1M

ARCH2009


5/12

5

ClassAAges16-18

1st 500

2nd 300(Stephe

nKempMemorial)

3rd 150(British

CouncilAssociation

Prize)

4th 120(Marga

retBestEndowment)

ClassBAges14-15

1st 350(Patricia

KelseyPrize)

2nd 200(Sheila

RamsayLochheadMe

morial)

3rd 150(Cambri

dgeUniversityCom

monwealthSociety)

4th 100

ClassCAges12-1

3

1st 250(Boba

ndBettyThorpPrize

)

2nd 1503rd 1

20

4th 100

ClassDUnder12

s

1st 200

2nd 1503rd 12

0

4th 100

SpecialPrizes

IneachageClassther

eisaspecialprizeav

ailableforadisabled

entrant(SirAlwynEzr

aEndowment).Thev

alueoftheprizeis

equivalenttothatoft

he4thprizeineacho

ftherespectiveClass

es.

CharltonAthleticCommunityTru

st Prize

CharltonAthleticCom

munityTrustusestheuniversallanguage

of

football,sportsanda

rtstocreateabetter

society.Thebestentry

answeringtheCharl

tonAthleticCommu

nityTrustQuestionwi

ll

win250forequipm

entandaCharltonA

thleticFootballKitfo

r

theirschool.

Entrantswillalsobe

eligiblefortheindivid

ualclass

prizes.

CommonwealthQ

uestionPrizes

Theseareawarded

inallfourClassestoth

ebestentrywritten

on

theCommonwealthQuestion.

Thevalueofthepriz

eisequivalent

tothatofthe4thpr

izeintherelevantClass.

LocalPrizes

Thefollowingcountr

ieshavelocalprizeso

rganisedalongsideth

e

mainprizes:AN

TIGUA,AUSTRALIA

Queensland,

SouthAustralia,Victoria,WesternAus

tralia,CANADA

BritishColumbia,Qu

ebec,Toronto,Ontario,DOMINICA,

FALKLANDISLANDS

,KIRIBATI,MAURIT

IUS,

NEWZEALANDAu

ckland,Christchurch,

Wellington,

PAPUANEWGUIN

EA,ST.HELENA,ST.

KITTS&NEVIS,

SAMOA,SEYCHELL

ES,SOLOMONISLA

NDS,TONGA,

TUVALU,UKJersey,Oxfordshi

re,Scotland,VANUA

TU.


6/12

6

ClassA Born1990-1992 1400-1750words

Allquestionscanbeansweredbywritinganessayorastorywhichexploresthetopicinaninterestingorrelevantway.1 CanIhelpyou?

2 BullyingisanissuewhichconcernsyoungpeoplethroughouttheCommonwealth.Whydoesitmatterandwhatcanbedoneaboutit?

3 Itis200yearssinceCharlesDarwinwasbornand150yearssincethepublicationofOntheoriginofSpecies.Inyourview,whatevolutionarydevelopmentsareneededtoensurethecontinuingsurvivalandwell-beingofhumanity?

4 EITHERUnlikelyfriendsORAnunexpectedfriendship.5 Thematch.

6 CommonwealthQuestionORCharltonAthleticCommunityTrustQuestion.

ClassB Born1993-1994 1200-1500words

Allquestionscanbeansweredbywritinganessayorastorywhichexploresthetopicinaninterestingorrelevantway.1 Tracks.

2 Whatmakesagoodteacher?

3 Whosthebossinyourfamily?4 Sport~ loveitorloatheit?5 Thelongwayhome...6 CommonwealthQuestionORCharlto

nAthleticCommunityTrustQuestion.


7/12

7

ClassCBorn199

5-1996500-700

words

1 Yourassignmentis

tointerviewananimal

foryourlocal

newspaperorradi

ostation.Sendusth

etranscriptofyour

interview!

2 Whatthreeplants

ortreesaremostimp

ortantforlifein

yourcountry?Why?

3 WhatIdontwant

todowhenImgrow

nup.

4 Adistantcousinwhol

ivesinaverydifferent

Commonwealth

countryiscomingtovisitforthefirst

time.Writealetter

introducingyourselfan

dyourhome

5 Writeastoryabou

ttheseaoramounta

inorboth.

6 CommonwealthQ

uestionORCharltonA

thleticCommunity

TrustQuestion.

ClassD Born1997o

rlater300-600

words

1 Thereisafuelsho

rtageinyourarea.

Howdoesyourfamil

ycope?

2 Youhavedecidedt

ostandforleaderofy

ourcommunity.

Writeashortspeechs

tatingwhatyouwilldo

toimprove

whereyoulive.

3 Thedaywasperfe

ctforaswim...

4 Themostexciting

dayofmylife.

5 Writeaboutwhaty

ourlifewouldhaveb

eenlikeifyou

hadbeenbornahund

redyearsago.

6 CommonwealthQuestionOR

CharltonAthletic

CommunityTrustQu

estion.

CommonwealthQ

uestion

Overhalfofthe1.8

billionpeopleinthe

Commonwealthare

aged25orunder.W

hatchangesinyourc

ountrywouldenhanc

e

thelivesofyoungpeople?

CharltonAthletic

CommunityTrus

t Question

TheBeautifulGame

:Whydoesfootballinspiresuc

hpassion

aroundtheworld?


8/12

8

1 TheCompetitio

nisopentostude

ntswhoareacitizenofor

residentinaCom

monwealthcountr

yorterritory.

2 Allentriesmust

besubmittedthro

ughaschool,colle

georyouth

organisation.

3 Allentriesmust

beaccompaniedbyacopyofthe

entryform

whichhasbeence

rtifiedbyamembe

rofstaffoftheschool,

collegeororganisa

tionsubmittingthe

entry.

4 Allentriesmust

bewritteninEngli

sh.

5 Candidatesmayonlysubmitone

entrywhichmust

bewrittenon

asingletopic.

6 Schoolsmayon

lysubmitsixteene

ntriesintotalandN

OMORE

THANFOUREN

TRIESPERAGEB

ANDORCLASS.

7 Candidatesshou

ldcalculatetheag

etheywillbeon3

1December

2008andselectatopicfromth

eClassthatcorres

pondswiththeir

ageonthatdate.

8 Entriesareliable

fordisqualification

onthefollowingcr

iteria:

theentry

isnotcertified.

nodateofbirthisgiven.

thecandidateis

toooldfortheClassentered

.

theentryistoolo

ngortooshortin

relationtothe

specifiedwordcou

nt.

theschoolhass

ubmittedmoreth

anfourentriesper

Class.

9 Allentriesbecomethepro

pertyoftheRoyal

Commonwealth

Societywiththerig

httopublish.

CheckList fo

rEntrants

Haveyou...

Attachedtheen

tryformtothefro

ntofyourentry?

Madeanaccur

atewordcount?

Writtenyourn

ame,thetitleoft

heentryandthetopic

numberattheto

pofthefirstpage

?

UsedA4pape

r(whereverpossi

ble)?

Numbereda

llthepagesclearly

?

Kepttothep

ointandansweredthetop

ic?


9/12

9

1 ItistheessenceoftheCompetitionthatcandidatestakefull

responsibilityforwhattheywrite.Teachersandfamiliesmust

notinterveneinanyway,whichcompromisesacandidates

responsibilityorthetrustonwhichtheCompetitionisbased.2Candidatesmust

payattentiontothetopicswhichhavebeensetandensurethat,withinthespecifiedwordcount,theyfully

answerwhattheyhavebeenaskedtodo.Otherwisethe

examinerswillnotconsiderthemeligiblefortheprizesand

awards.

3Examinersexpectcandidatestoshowacompetentcommand

ofEnglishasawrittenlanguage.Thisincludesagoodstandard

ofspellingandpunctuation,neatpresentationandclearhand

writingorwordprocessing.Examinerstakeintoaccountwhether

Englishisthefirst,secondorthirdlanguageofthecandidate.4 Prize-winningentriesmayvaryen

ormouslyinthewaytheyare

written.Howevertheywillinvariablyengagethereaders

attentioninanentertaining,interestingorthoughtfulmanner.

Qualitiesshownbycandidatesmayincludeoriginality,imagination,

creativewritingskills,clarityofthought,sincerityofvoice,skilful

storytelling,soundscholarshiporwell-documentedresearch.

5WhengivingCommendedorHighlyCommendedawards,examinerswillusuallychoosethoseentrieswhichhaveshapeandstructure,keeptothepointanddemonstratecareandeffortonthepartofthewriter.

6Whereappropriate,candidatesareencouragedtocarryoutresearchby

readingsuitablebooksandarticlesand/orbymakinguseoftheinternet.Itisexpectedthattheyconsultmorethanoneidentifiablesource

ofinformation,attributequotationsbymeansoffootnotesandlist

theirsourcesattheendoftheentry.7Candidate

smustnotplagiariseorcopymaterial.Rememberthat

examinershaveaccesstotheinternetandcaneasilyidentify

materialpublishedon-line.8 IntheyoungerClasses(CandD),examinersenjoyentrieswhich

areillustrated,byhandorbyusingcomputergeneratedimages

andphotographs,providedtheillustrationsarerelevanttothe

subject-matteroftheentryanddonotdetractfromthewriting.


10/12

10

BYPOSTPleasecompleteyourentryforminblockcapitalsandattachittothefrontofyouressay.

Sendentriesto:

COMMONWEALTHESSAYCOMPETITIONTHEROYALCOMMONWEALTHSOCIETY25NORTHUMBERLANDAVENUE

LONDONWC2N5APUK

VIATHEINTERNETFulldetailsandanelectronicentryformaregivenontheCompetitionwebpageoftheRCSwebsite:www.rcsint.orgPleasereadalltheinformationandfollowtheinstructionscarefully.

Pleasemakesurethatyou givethenameofyourschoolasthesubjectofyouremail. submitBOTHyourentrydetailsANDyouressay/storyasaSINGLEATTACHMENTtotheemail. useafontwhichisbetween11and14pt. checkthaty

ourpagemarginsarenomorethan3cminwidth.Pleasedonotsendyouressay/storyasanemail.Senditasanattachment.Thismakesprocessingyourentrymucheasier.

CONTACTDETAILS

Telephone + 44(0)2079306733Facsimile + 44(0)2079309705Email [email protected] www.rcsint.org


11/12

Candidate Details (to be completed by student)

Country:

Family name:

First name:

Date of birth:

Gender M F

Essay Class A B C D

Topic number 1 2 3 4 5 6

Exact number of words used:

I understand that by submitting this form I take full responsibility for

my entry. I certify that it is my own work and does not contain

material copied or plagiarised from another source.

Signature: Date:

Information from Schools

I certify, as a member of staff of the school, that:

(a) the entry details given here are correct.

(b) the student composed and hand-wrote or word-processed this essay.

(c) a maximum of 4 entries have been submitted by this school for this

Class in the Competition.

Name (in capitals):

Signature:

Name of School:

Full School Address:

Email:

Is English the first, second or third/fourth language of the candidate?

First Second Third/fourthSpecial prize: Is there a relevant disability which would entitle the candidate

to be considered for one of the Special Prizes?Yes NoIf so, please specify:

Please write clearly in black ink and tick the appropriate boxes


12/12

Designe

dandproducedbyQuattro.

Tel:+44(0)2077665225

Acknowledgements:

Front and Back cover:School children in Tamil Nadu, South IndiaPicture credit: Claire Anholt, RCS

Commonwealth Essay Competition

The Royal Commonwealth Society

25 Northumberland Avenue

London WC2N 5AP

UK

Telephone: + 44 (0) 20 7930 6733

Facsimile: + 44 (0) 20 7930 9705

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.rcsint.org

Reg. Charity 226748

With special thanks to Charlton Athletic

Community Trust

2009 Commonwealth

Documents

Transcript of 2009 Commonwealth