Jaisal Shah of IGCSE Grade 10 B won Bronze in Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition

Jaisal Shah of DAIS IGCSE Class 10B has been awarded the Bronze Award in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) 2025, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, in the Senior Category.

 

 

The 2025 edition of QCEC witnessed a record-breaking 53,434 entries from students across 56 Commonwealth countries, making Jaisal’s recognition a noteworthy achievement on a truly global literary platform.

 

For his essay, Jaisal responded to the Senior Category prompt:

 

“National legends and folklore can take us on a journey through history and culture. Retell a famous folklore from your own or another Commonwealth country in a surprising way.”

 

 

He creatively reimagined the folklore of Akbar’s Navratnas—the nine distinguished scholars, artists, and strategists of Emperor Akbar’s court—retelling the narrative in a Shakespearean style, blending Indian history with classical Western literary elements.

 

This accomplishment marks Jaisal’s third consecutive year of success at the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, having previously won a Silver Award and a Gold Finalist Award in earlier editions.