The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is looking for an enthusiastic and qualified team of participants to volunteer the competition as a judge. Each year, The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition receives thousands of entries from across the Commonwealth and relies on a team of volunteers to read and judge them. One of the greatest strengths of this Competition is that each young person’s writing is individually read and appreciated by an adult somewhere in the Commonwealth, who might otherwise never hear their experience.

Judges come from a wide variety of backgrounds and offer a diverse range of skills and experience. All judges share the Society’s commitment to nurturing the creative talents of young people and wish to actively participate in increasing youth dialogue in the Commonwealth. They may also have a particular interest in the theme, the English language, creative writing or youth work.

Benefits

Basically in return for their time, judges have the satisfaction of making a vital contribution to an important Pan-Commonwealth youth program. Moreover, this is an opportunity to read written pieces from students from across the Commonwealth and gain unrivaled experience and skills. In addition to this, all judges receive a personalized certificate of recognition of their participation, subscription to the e-newsletter, and invitations to select RCS events. The QCEC is not an exam with entrants expected to meet a number of specific requirements; rather, it is an opportunity for creativity and high-quality discursive writing.

Requirements 

In order to be eligible for the role, candidates must

• be over 18 years old
• have an interest in the Commonwealth and/or international affairs
• have an active interest in writing and/or literature
• be available for a total of 30-35 hours between Monday 6th July – Monday 17th August (6 weeks), in order to read and judge approximately 100 scripts
• have reliable access to a computer and internet in this period

Interested candidates can download and complete the application form and return to [email protected] by 9 am BST Wednesday 22^nd April 2020.