BBC 500 Words Writing Challenge
BBC 500 Words Writing Challenge
We are excited to share an amazing opportunity for our young writers – the BBC 500 Words Writing Challenge! This national competition invites children to unleash their creativity by writing an original story of no more than 500 words. It’s a fantastic way for them to develop their imagination, practise their writing skills, and have their voices heard.
At Preston, we are proud to nurture our school aim of “Love to Learn”, encouraging children to take their love of learning beyond the classroom. Taking part in this challenge is a wonderful way for pupils to explore their ideas, play with language, and enjoy the fun of storytelling.
The competition is open to children aged 5-11, with two age categories: 5-7 year-olds and 8-11 year-olds. All they need to do is write a story they would love to read, in 500 words or less. It’s all about imagination; spelling, punctuation, and grammar will not be marked – we want to encourage children of all abilities to take part.
Deadline for submission is Friday 7th November2025.
Stories must be original and typed. Each child can submit only one story, and it must be written individually.
50 finalists will be invited to a glittering grand final in February 2026.
The gold, silver and bronze winners of both categories will receive a huge bundle of books:
- Gold winning stories will receive the height of Sir Lenny Henry in books
- Silver win the height of Her Majesty The Queen in books
- Bronze winners win the average height of a child relevant to their age category in books
The gold winners' schools will also receive 500 books each for their school library. In addition to the book prizes, each of the winning stories will receive a framed illustrated cover produced exclusively by top children's illustrators.
Parents and carers will need to sign their children up directly for the competition. You can find full details and entry information on the BBC 500 Words website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/500-words,where you will need to register for free before submitting your child’s story.
We would love to see as many of our pupils as possible take part, so please encourage your child to get creative and share their wonderful ideas!