King’s Academy hosted its third annual Arabic Creativity Competition (ACC) on April 20, which was attended by 28 student finalists representing 12 public schools and one private school from around Jordan.

The ACC is an initiative launched in 2022 with the aim of celebrating Arabic language and culture. The competition is the brainchild of King’s Academy alumnus Ali Shajrawi ’11, who came up with the idea in memory of the late Atef Abu Sarris, a longtime Arabic teacher at King’s whose impact upon Shajrawi as a student helped him to develop a deep appreciation of Arabic.

The first ACC was only open to King’s students. In its second year, however, the competition went national with over 100 students taking part, and this year, around 300 students — from as far south as Aqaba and as far north as Irbid and Ramtha — submitted entries to the competition. Expanding the competition into a national initiative was in line with both Shajrawi and King’s Academy’s vision to give talented students all over Jordan opportunities similar to those experienced by King’s students.

The ACC provides students with a platform to express themselves and demonstrate their skills and creativity in the Arabic language in a myriad of forms. This year, the diverse range of entries included declamations, research projects, short stories, and documentaries narrated in Arabic.

Selected by a panel of judges, 12 overall winners were announced at Saturday’s award ceremony. The event, which was attended by Dr. Ali Al-Hrout, former president of the Al-Hussein University – Maan and current consultant to the prime minister of Jordan, also included faculty and representatives from all the finalist schools.

King’s Academy students were active participants in both the competition and the ceremony. Mohammad AlSaid ’25 acted as the master of ceremony, alongside Arabic teacher Yasmin Abbas, and a group of King’s students performed a theatrical skit about the Arabic language.

“We established this competition at King’s Academy, thanks to the generosity of our alumnus Ali AlShajrawi, in our desire to preserve classical Arabic language and to inspire the enthusiasm of creative students from all parts of our dear Jordan,” said Abdelrazzaq Ben Tarif, head of the Department of Communication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts – Arabic at King’s Academy.

List of Winners:

Category: Research

• First place: Dima Al-Jaarat, Sumayah Secondary School, South Shuna
• Second place: Bushra Al-Jundi, King Abdullah II School for Excellence, Zarqa
• Third place: Leen Al-Sabbah, Maimuna bint Al-Harith School, Ramtha

Category: Short Story

• First place: Omaima Al-Bashaira, Maryam Al-Batoul School, Tafila
• Second place: Loujain Al-Shakhanbeh, King Abdullah II School for Excellence, Madaba
• Third place: Jood Adayleh, King's Academy

Category: Investigative Journalism

• First place: King Abdullah II School for Excellence, Tafila for the documentary “Smoking”
• Second place: Rufaida Al-Islamia School, Sahab for the documentary “Al-Sahib Sahab”
• Third place: Al Madina AlFadilah Special Education School, Amman for the documentary “Bullying”

Category: Public Speaking

• First place: Jumana Al Nobani, King’s Academy
• Second place: Wala’a Al-Anati, Al-Qadisiyah Co-educational School, Safout
• Third place: Tasneem Al-Qaisi, King Abdullah II School for Excellence, Aqaba