Enter the Prize

Enter the Prize

Congratulations – you’ve written your entry and you’re ready to enter the Orwell Youth Prize 2026! Before you start filling out the entry form, let’s check everything is in order…

Checklist

  • Does your entry have a maximum wordcount of 1000 words (if you’re in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11) or 1500 words (if you’re in Year 12 or 13)?
  • Have you checked that your name does not appear anywhere on your entry or the file name?
  • Have you saved your entry as a PDF?
  • Is the file name the title of your entry? (e.g. AnimalFarm.pdf)
  • If you will be aged 12 or under on our closing date of 29th April 2026, you will need a parent/guardian to sign their consent for you to enter the Prize – make sure you have someone ready to help with this!
  • The deadline for feedback is Wednesday 25th February – you can choose whether or not you want feedback. If you enter after this deadline, please select ‘This is my final entry.’ The final deadline is Wednesday 29th April.

All set? Please fill out the entry form below.

Enter the Orwell Youth Prize 2026

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • About You

  • DD slash MM slash YYYY

  • Your Entry

    The word limit is 1,000 words for entrants in Years 7 to 11 and 1,500 for entrants in Years 12 and 13. Please submit your entry as a PDF and make sure you don't include your own name in the document OR the file name. The file name should be your title, eg "Animal Farm"
    The deadline for feedback is 25th February 2026.
  • Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 10 MB.
    Your piece will need a title: use this title to name your document. For example, if my piece was called 'Animal Farm', my entry would be: AnimalFarm.pdf

  • If you had one minute with the Prime Minister, what would you ask him to do, to benefit young people?

    We believe wholeheartedly in the power of great writing. We also support the ideas and the potential of the collective voice of our entrants. So, we are asking every entrant this year to submit a short response (up to 1000 characters) to the following question alongside their entry: If you had one minute with the Prime Minister, what would you ask him to do, to benefit young people?

  • Safeguarding

    To comply with safeguarding guidelines, please let us know the contact details of a parent, legal guardian or teacher.

  • Equal Opportunities

    The Orwell Youth Prize is open to all students in secondary school, years 7 - 13 (or equivalent) based in the UK and strives to reach as many young people as possible. The collection of information on your background and location allows us to monitor our progress and improve our offer. If you have any questions on how your data is used or stored please see our data protection policy or email admin@orwellyouthprize.co.uk.

  • Your School or College

    Please enter the name, address and contact details for your school or college. The Orwell Youth Prize is open to all students in years 7 - 13 (or equivalent) in the United Kingdom.