Bangladeshi students shine in Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition

Three students from Bangladesh have won awards at the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025, the world's oldest international writing competition for schools. 

They were selected from 53,434 entries submitted from across the Commonwealth.

Mir Navid Zayer of Playpen School received a Gold Award in the Junior Category. Afifa Nawar of Playpen School won a Silver Award in the Senior Category. Rituraj Bhowmick of the Australian International School received a Silver Award.

Afifa's story, "Me, Steve and Something Else," was recognised for its creative interpretation of the prompt. The story follows the journey of a sunflower witnessing the life of a girl living with amnesia.

For Junior Category, the theme was "Our Commonwealth Journey".

The competition, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, asked young people to explore geographical, historical and personal journeys across the 56 Commonwealth nations. Entries came from 54 countries this year. 

Founded in 1883, the competition encourages young writers to reflect on global issues and community experiences. It offers two categories based on age. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards recognise excellence in writing. 

The achievements of these Bangladeshi students place them among the leading young writers in the Commonwealth.