Crescent Girls' student clinches second-place win in Queen's Commonwealth Essay contest

Achanta Lakshmi Manognya was falling asleep one October evening when her elder sister rushed into the room to shake her awake.

- Alessia Mah

“Mano, we're going to Buckingham Palace!” her sister screamed.

That was how the Crescent Girls’ School student, 14, realised she was the junior category runner-up in The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2025. Her mother had received an email from the organisers.

Founded in 1883, the competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools.

Over 53,400 entries were submitted from 54 Commonwealth countries, a new record and a 53 per cent increase from 2024, according to the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The junior category, for those aged 14 and below, was won by Vivaan Agarwal from India.

The senior category was won by Kaira Puri from India and the runner-up was Pandora Onyedire from Nigeria.

The four won a “Winners’ Week” trip to Britain in November that involved visits to historic and cultural sites, such as Westminster Abbey and Jane Austen’s House. There was also an award ceremony at St James’s Palace on Nov 20, where they received their certificates from Queen Camilla.

On meeting the Queen, Manognya said: “She was really kind... She went to every single family member in the winners’ families, and she talked to each of them.”