By: Trinidad Guardian

Friday December 04,

Winners of the T&T Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition were lauded for their high level of writing creativity during a prize-giving function held at the International Financial Centre, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

In congratulating the winners, media personality and one of the competition’s judges Ira Mathur said she was floored by the work of the secondary school students. “The future of T&T is in good hands,” she said. The young writers also came in for praise from former journalist, now attorney, Deborah Jean-Baptiste Samuel, another judge in the competition. “It was sheer delight and an invigorating experience...this has to be done again!” she said.

The competition was split into two groups—the under-14 age group and the 14 to 18 group. Copping first prize in the 14 to 18 category and winning a trip to London was 16-year-old Christineil Thompson, a Form Five student of Naparima Girls’ High School. Thompson will be flown to London in March next year to attend the largest interfaith celebration in the UK—the Commonwealth Day Observance at Westminster Abbey.

The event will be attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Kara John, 12, a Form One student of St Joseph’s Convent, St Joseph, placed first in the under-14 category and won a laptop computer. The competition was jointly run by the National Secretariat for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the Royal Commonwealth Society. Students were invited to write a letter to a visiting Commonwealth leader telling them what T&T can teach the world.