• Winners are announced of the Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition
Dubai, UAE, 9 February 2022: The craft of fine handwriting was celebrated today at The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature with a special ceremony to honour the winners of the Royal Grammar School (RGS) Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition.
Celebrating beautiful penmanship, the RGS Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition gives young people the chance to show off their letter writing skills, recognising both the aesthetic of fine handwriting and the art of composing a well-crafted message. Letters were written to an author who had inspired the entrant, taking into account the positive theme of this year’s Festival, ‘Here Comes the Sun’. The competition was divided in to two categories.
“What a wonderful way to celebrate the art or letter writing, and encourage the skill of penmanship. We have been so impressed with the eloquence and elegance of the submissions,” said Clare Turnbull, Principal, RGS Guildford Dubai. “A love of reading and writing is one of the most important gifts we can give young people. It has been a joy to be part of the Festival and sponsoring this competition. This competition reminds children that letter writing is certainly not a lost art, but a craft to be cherished and admired.”
The winners are:
English Winners
9 – 13 Age Group
1. Seher Pahade, Ambassador School, Dubai
2. Aanvi Joshi, Dwight School, Dubai
3. Mir Faraz, The Winchester School Jebel Ali, Dubai
14 – 18 Age Group
1. Sana Feroz, The Millennium School, Dubai
2. Althaf Mohammed, The Westminster School, Dubai
3. Maryam Ahmad Al Shamsi, Dubai National School Altwar, Dubai
Arabic Winners
9 – 13 Age Group
1. Sara Zaid Qasim, Al Mawakeb School Al Barsha, Dubai
2. Samira Ahmad Daasan, Jumeirah Baccalaurete School, Dubai
3. Mona Mohammad Ali, Fatima Bint Mubarak School, Abu Dhabi
14 -18 Age Group
1. Janin Abu Obaid, Emirates National School Alain, Abu Dhabi
2. Amany Al Ashmawy, Al Mabaade School, Abu Dhabi
3. Abdullah Almheiri, Dubai National School Altwar, Dubai
The Festival programme is brimming with sessions to engage, entertain and inform, with topics encompassing fiction, history, current affairs, food, health, travel, biography, business and more. There are opportunities to appreciate poetry, take part in creative writing workshops and generally indulge in intelligent and articulate discussion on a wide range of topics. Sessions appeal to all ages and nationalities, featuring outstanding authors, thinkers and opinion formers.
Other initiatives celebrated at the Festival included the Voices of Future Generations, which launched its second anthology of winning stories; the School Librarian of the Year; OUP Story Writing Competition; Chevron Reader’s Cup; ENBD Poetry For All; Emirates LitFest Writing Prize; and the announcement of the first 10 fellows for the First Chapter: ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship.
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Festival is held with Founding Partners Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture. It is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.
