Seventeen local students from government and private schools received prizes for winning the 2013 Commonwealth Essay Competition, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS).

These include nine international competition winners that judges selected from among 11,000 entries from 55 Commonwealth countries and territories.

Presenting the awards at a reception that she hosted for the winners, parents, teachers and local organisers on Thursday, 27 March 2014 at Government House, Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs. Helen Kilpatrick, CB, stated that all should feel justifiably proud of these accomplishments.

Ministerial Councillor, Mr. Winston Connolly praised the young people for their accomplishments, and thanked the RCS for providing them with an opportunity to hone their creative writing skills and individual talents. He exhorted the winners to continue to work hard to further develop their abilities.

The theme for both the local and international segments was Opportunity through Enterprise.

Five students from St. Ignatius Catholic School received international recognition including two gold awards, one silver and two bronzes. St Ignatius also took home the Elliott cup, named after the late Mr. John Elliott, the Society’s long-standing former representative in the Cayman Islands.

Layman E. Scott High School earned one gold while Cayman Prep and High collected two silvers and a bronze.

The winners were:

•          Taurean Cox – St. Ignatius Catholic – senior bronze and Elliott cup winner;

•          Aniela McGrath – St. Ignatius Catholic School– junior gold;

•          Abijith Anu – Layman E. Scott High School, Cayman Brac – junior silver;

•          Matilda Copley Kyne – St. Ignatius Catholic School – junior silver;

•          Finn Lovegrove, Rishaa Patel and Zephan Deosaran – all from Cayman Prep and High School – junior silver; and

•          Arjun Dhanasekar and Isha Rankin – St. Ignatius Catholic School – junior bronze.

Meanwhile in the local competition, George Town Primary School (GTPS) won three gold awards and a silver award. Red Bay Primary (RBPS) received two silvers while John Gray High earned a silver and Prospect Primary one bronze.

Local winners were:

•          Senior silver: Oneka Thompson – John Gray High;

•          Junior gold: Alec Harding, Leah Robinson and Joshua O’Garro – all GTPS;

•          Junior silver: Makeda Harris – GTPS; Matthew Leslie and Philip Mathura – RBPS;

•          Junior bronze: Alexander Thompson – Prospect Primary.

The local competition which is open to all students under 18 had been in abeyance since 2008 due to a switch over from a manual to electronic method of applications and awards, explained RCS representative in the Cayman Islands, Mr. Lemuel Hurlston, PhD (honoris causa).

It was reintroduced last year and promoted as part of the National Children’s Festival of the Arts programme.

The international competition is 130 years old.

Photo captions: Photos by Bina Mani

Photo 1: Award winners with Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs. Helen Kilpatrick, CB: front row, l-r: Alec Harding, Leah Robinson, Joshua O’Garro, Taurean Cox, Aniela McGrath, Matthew Leslie and Philip Mathura; back row, l-r: The Hon. Justice Charles Quin, QC (immediate past honorary representative of the RCS), Mr. James Watler, the Governor, Mr. Lemuel Hurlston, PhD (honoris causa) and Ministerial Councillor Mr. Winston Connolly.

Photo 2: All the Commonwealth Essay Competition winners from the Cayman Islands, with Her Excellency the Governor, Mrs. Helen Kilpatrick, CB, Ministerial Councillor Winston Connolly (right) and the other speakers

Photo 3: Some winners and parents enjoy the hospitality.

Photo 4: L-r: Ministerial Councillor Winston Connolly with School Principals Ms Lyneth Monteith (John Gray) and Ms Marie Martin (George Town Primary)

Photo 5: Deputy Governor Hon. Franz Manderson with The Hon. Justice Charles Quin, QC, (immediate past honorary representative of the RCS)