Nathan Swain was Junior Winner of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2015. He and his family visited the UK to attend the awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition Prize Trip

This page is from the Royal Commonwealth Society and chronicles the events of Winners Week
See also these linked pages:

More about the competition, Nathan's essay and Tristan photos: Commonwealth Essay Competition
Nathan's time in London and Surrey: RCS Essay Prize Trip
The Swains in the West Country: CECUKTrip20152
Nathan, Mark and Paula as guests of Alan and Ann Ashworth in Norfolk: RCS Essay Prize Trip 3
The family return home via Cape Town RCS Essay Prize Trip 4

Nathan Swain was the winner in the Junior Category of the prestigious 2015 Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Competition - see
Commonwealth Essay Competition
for reports and photos about the competition, Tristan presentations and Nathan's prize-winning essay and RCS Essay Prize Trip for the main page showing the family's UK trip.
Report direct from the Royal Commonwealth Society with their kind permission
The Duchess of Cornwall with the 2015 Queen's Essay Competition winners
during their presentation ceremony on 15th October - see report below.

Winners’ Week Day 1
12th October 2015

Today we were delighted to welcome to London the Winners and Runners-Up of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2015. The Senior Winner, Paraschos Cant from Cyprus, the Senior Runner-Up, Tawanda Mulalu from Botswana, the Junior Winner, Nathan Swain from Tristan da Cunha, and the Junior Runner-Up, Martina Watler from the Cayman Islands, were selected by our panel judges in August following a long judging process which began in June and benefited from the input of 96 judges from all across the Commonwealth.

After more than a month’s wait, the four young writers (some still jet-lagged) began their day by being eagerly introduced to members of RCS staff over welcome teas and coffees at the High Commission of Cyprus in St James’s Square. With introductions completed, the first activity of the day got underway with Alison Milford, a freelance children’s author and educational writer, leading a writing workshop. 

The workshop provided an opportunity for Parachos, Nathan, Tawanda and Martina to find out more about one another, to share ideas and to bond over set creative tasks. From Word Art posters to Shared Sensor Poetry, the session aimed to stretch and challenge the Winners and Runners-Up, and to provide new techniques to take away and use in their future writing.

After the workshop, Paraschos, Tawanda, Nathan and Martina were treated to brilliant views of London’s skyline from the tallest building in Europe – the iconic, pyramidal,  Shard. Instantly recognisable, the Shard has become one of London’s most popular tourist attractions thanks to the panoramic views it offers, and all four winners were excited – as were the adults – to spot some of London’s key attractions from its glassy observation deck. Though busy, the afternoon ended on a high, with great anticipation for the activities to come.

Monday morning writing workshop
at the High Commission of Cyprus

Winners' Week Day Two
13th October 2015

Joining the rush of morning commuters, Paraschos, Tawanda, Nathan and Martina kick-started their Tuesday by making their way to Westminster for a walking tour of the Houses of Parliament.  

The young writers had the opportunity to learn not only about Parliament’s history but also about its current usage, and how different versions of the Westminster political system could be found in use across many Commonwealth states today. The group enjoyed seeing both the House of Commons and the House of Lords in person and took many pictures in Westminster Hall as souvenirs of this very interesting visit. In the afternoon, moving away from the political system to the world of secondary education, the Winners and Runners-Up visited Holland Park School in West London. They were warmly welcomed by members of staff, and following snacks and a short explanation regarding the school’s multi-cultural cohort, a tour of the newly refurbished buildings got under way.

Tuesday's visit to Holland Park School

The tour allowed the group to experience the environment of a UK Comprehensive (secondary) school as the group was able to observe lessons in Latin, Art, English and Dance. In particular, the state-of-the-art music, design and sports facilities proved impressive: the swimming pool, gym, library and Food Technology kitchens left both parents and young writers feeling appreciative of the positive learning atmosphere they had witnessed.

After an enjoyable school lunch, the last activity of the day was a visit to the offices of The Evening Standard – a widely circulated London newspaper.

The group were shown around by Doug Willis, Managing Editor of the paper, who explained how a busy newspaper office operated. The Winners and Runners-Up were interested in Doug’s explanation of the history of the paper and its rebirth following years of decline.  This proved to be an informative insight into the newspaper industry as a whole, and an inspiring end to day two.

Left: The group at the offices of The Evening Standard

 

Winners’ Week Day Three
Wednesday 14th October

On Wednesday, after two days taking part in very London-centred activities, it was a refreshing change for the Winners, Runners-Up and their families to visit the city of Cambridge. Here, they spent the day with  Cambridge University Press, sponsor of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2015.

They visited Fitzwilliam College and were greeted there by Dr Hero Chalmers, a lecturer in English Literature, before they were introduced to the Master of the College, Nicola Padfield, who outlined the history of women’s education in Cambridge and the similar legal systems between Commonwealth countries.

Following the talk, the group were keen to learn more about Cambridge and walked down to the River Cam for a session of punting, a typical Cambridge activity.

The final stop was a visit to the University of Cambridge library where the  archives of the Royal Commonwealth Society, dating back to 1862, have been stored since 1992. Visiting the underground storage facilities, the Commonwealth archivists explained that the Winners’ and Runner-Ups’ essays would also be stored there. They then presented old photos and postcards that would be of interest to the families. In particular, the group were all amazed to have Nathan’s grandfather, his great-grandfather and great-grandmother pointed out in the collection! 

Though a long day, the trip had proved both interesting and surprising; the group were impatient for the Buckingham Palace Award Ceremony, which was to take place the next day.

Nathan Swain
with his mother Paula alongside
during the trip to Cambridge
on 14th October

Winners’ Week Day Four
Thursday 15th October

Right: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, presents Nathan Swain with his certificate as the Winner of the 2015 Queen's Essay Competition run by the Royal Commonwealth Society in Buckingham Palace.
(Photo from the RCS Film of the event courtesy of Alan Ashworth)

At 9.30am, the Winners and Runners-Up were early to arrive outside Buckingham Palace for the Award Ceremony. The Royal Commonwealth Society Director, Michael Lake, began the ceremony by welcoming guests, officially announcing the theme of   The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2016  – ‘An Inclusive Commonwealth’, and then inviting Her Royal Highness to make the presentations to the young winners, who were all awarded a certificate and a commemorative pen.

The guests at the ceremony included foreign dignitaries, journalists, authors and members of the Junior and Senior judging panels. The UK Representative of the Government of Tristan da Cunha; the Minister Counsellor for the High Commission for Botswana to the United Kingdom; the Political Counsellor of the High Commission for Cyprus and the Chief Executive of Friends of the British Overseas Territories were just some of the guests ready to meet and congratulate the young writers.

Upon leaving Buckingham Palace, Helen Jones, Director of Youth Affairs and Education Programmes at the RCS, joined the group for lunch and was keen to discuss the morning’s events and catch up on their week. This allowed the families to reflect on their time in London and to re-energise after the excitement of the ceremony.

The four winners before
the Buckingham Palace presentation

Finally, the group were taken to the BBC’s Broadcasting House near Oxford Circus. They met with Christine Noakes who had organised an interesting and interactive tour of the BBC. Though the group left the studios disheartened to part ways, all agreed that their week of educational and cultural activities had been a great learning experience and one which they would remember for a long time to come.

For 132 years, the essay competition has provided a platform for young writers, like Paraschos, Tawanda, Nathan and Martina, across the Commonwealth, to share their views on the issues that matter to them. As the group leave London tomorrow, we hope that the strength of the written word, the importance of cross-cultural dialogue and the importance of the modern Commonwealth are messages that will stay with them.

We await further photos but a RCS video of the Buckingham Palace Awards Ceremony is available to view on: www.youtube.com which includes an interview with Nathan and of him receiving the award from the Duchess of Cornwall

Link directly to the RCS blog site: https://thercs.org/news/news-and-blog/ for more