BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

STUDENTS from Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School and Lambak Kiri Secondary School were named champions in the respective male and female categories of a Roman calligraphy competition.

Abd Aziz Hj Matali from Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School and Amal Nadzirah Khairuddin from Lambak Kiri Secondary School beat 11 students in their category to claim victory.

A prize presentation ceremony was held at the Sports School, which saw 14 students get awarded.

A total of 22 students from 13 secondary schools joined the competition, but only the top seven in each category were awarded.

The calligraphy competition aimed to promote interest in the art of calligraphy among students and promote calligraphy as part of skilled education based on the national education system (SPN21).

Hjh Hajidah Hj Abd Wahab, head of Skills and Entrepreneurship Department, said the art of calligraphy is a lucrative income-generating field if done with innovation.

She added that the competition hoped to discover youth’s potential and encourage future avid calligraphists.

Nurul Amira Hj Mohd Kassim, 17, said she did not particularly have a passion for calligraphy, thus her win was completely unexpected.

She joined the competition as a result of her teacher’s encouragement and her willingness to represent her school.

The Year 11 Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School (SMJA) student said the assigned text was released to students in advance, which gave her ample time to practise at home prior to the competition held in May last year.

The text was a Malay translation of a Quranic verse , and the participating students had freedom in terms of style, illustrations and text size.

Part of the judge’s assessment criteria was aesthetic innovation, design relevance and tidiness.

The competition was organised by the Co-Curricular Education Department, in collaboration with the Skills and Entrepreneurship Department.

The Brunei Times