I am writing to highlight an opportunity to volunteer as a judge for The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC). The QCEC, which is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, receives thousands of entries from young people across the Commonwealth and relies on a team of generous volunteers to read and judge them.
One of the greatest strengths of this unique 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 story. The QCEC is an important opportunity for creative storytelling, empathy, critical thinking, and experimenting freely with different genres of writing.
The Royal Commonwealth Society is currently looking for new judges for The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025. Judges will share the RCS’s commitment to amplifying youth dialogue across the Commonwealth. They may also have a particular interest in the theme, literacy, youth work, or international affairs.
To be eligible for the role, you should:
be over 18 years old;
have an interest in writing and/or literature/ the Commonwealth and/or international affairs;
be available between June 2025 and July 2025 in order to read and judge approximately 100-150 entries
have reliable access to a computer and internet during this period as the judging process is electronic.
Your voluntary assistance with this programme will be instrumental to our efforts to empower young writers to imagine a better future and encourage them to take their first steps towards it.
If you are interested in the role, I’d be grateful if you could complete this brief form.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the programme manager, Liv Robinson, at qcecjudging@royalcwsociety.org should you require further information or have any questions.
Volunteering as a judge for The queen's commonwealth essay competition is a gratifying experience that allows you to help young authors around the world. It's an excellent opportunity to interact with people from many backgrounds while contributing to a major literary event d on education or event management project topics, this position provides useful insights into arranging large-scale competitions.