Schools’ Essay Competition 2026
Photo by Isaac Ohringer
IntroductionWe are delighted to announce the questions for our fifth annual Schools’ Essay Competition. This competition has become a central part of the work of the Cambridge Language Collective, and we are proud of the strong legacy it has built, attracting hundreds of submissions each year from schools across the country.
The competition is divided into four categories (Politics, Philosophy, Literature, and Film & Art), with questions designed for both the Senior Category (Years 12–13) and the Junior Category (Years 10–11). Word limits are as follows:
Junior Category: maximum 700 words
Senior Category: maximum 900 words
Important Information
All entries must be submitted as a Word document and include the student’s name, age, school, year group and essay title.
Submissions that do not include this information or fail to adhere to the guidelines will not be considered nor read.
The use of AI at any stage of the writing process is strictly prohibited.
Entries must be submitted by a teacher; submissions sent directly by students will not be accepted.
Only one entry per student is permitted. If multiple submissions are received, only the first one will be considered.
All essays must be written in English.
All entries must refer to at least one non-Anglophone country in the response.
All entries should be sent to our designated email address: cambridgelanguagecollective@mmll.cam.ac.uk
Best of luck!
Executive Committee of the CLC 2026