Browse a range of Creative Competitions, inspired by the ancient world, that are open for entries in 2026. The open competitions are arranged in order of their closing date; some are listed at the bottom, which were open in 2025, and further information has not yet been released about them.
These competitions are not organised by the CA. To browse our CA Competitions, click here.
If you would like to let us know about an upcoming, free to enter, relevant classical competition, please send the information to admin@classicalassociation.org.
| Closing Date | Competition | Prizes | Notes |
| Opens Autumn 2026 | Girton College Cambridge Writing Competition | £500 cash and books to the value of £400 divided between winners – typically first, second and third place. Books to be shared between winning entrants and their schools. | Open to students in year 12 or equivalent; limited to three entries per school |
| Opens September 2026 | University of Exeter Essay Competition | £100 in vouchers and a University of Exeter hoodie | Open to GCSE, A-Level, BTEC and IB students |
| 30/09/2026 | Betty Haigh Shakespeare Prize | £200 cash prize, plus up to £100 on travel to London for the English Association conference | Open to students aged 11-19 in school, college or sixth form |
| Opens October 2026 | Goldsmiths Young Writers Competition | First prize £500, runner-up prizes £100 | Open to young people aged 16-18; involves registering then being supported through creating their entry |
| 20/10/2026 | Britain’s Last Roman Hoards Short Story Competition | First Prize £50, Second Prize £30, Two runners-up £15. | Open to young people aged 11-17; short story of up to 1000 words inspired by late Roman Hoards; entrants cannot use generative AI to produce the submission; winning entry will be published on the project blog |
| 31/10/2026 | Young Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction | £500 travel grant, tickets to the Borders Book Festival, publication in the Young Walter Scott Anthology | Open to young people aged 11-19 |
| Opens November 2026 | Leeds Myths and Legends Competition | Confidence-building workshop and chance to present at the Final | Open to KS3 (years 7-9 or equivalent) |
| 12/02/2027 | CSCP Ovid Competition | Open to students in year 7 or of equivalent age; each school may submit one entry in each category; students may compete as individuals or in groups of up to four | |
| 2 pm (BST) on Wednesday 7th July 2027 | Omnibus Sam Hood Translation Prizes | The prize-winner will receive not only a cheque for £75 but also a book of classical poetry. | Open to anyone under 19 and still in full-time pre-university education. |
| 2 pm (BST) on Wednesday 7th July 2027 | Gladstone Memorial Essay Prizes | The first prize stands at £200, the second at £100. | Open to anyone under 19 and still in full-time pre-university education. |
| Closed – Reopens in 2027 | Royal Mint Museum Short Story Competition | A Royal Mint gold coin to the winner and the story illustrated by an artist; a £5000 voucher for their school or local library to spend with Peters book supplier | Open to children aged 7-11 |
| Closed 07/01/2026 | Hellenic Society Undergraduate Competition | Publication in ARGO (Society magazine) with author’s fee £100; winner and 2 runners up receive free society membership | Open to anyone who has studied for an undergraduate degree in the year 2025 |
| Closed 09/01/2026 | Perse Research Year 9 Aristotelian Award | £70 to the winner of each category; prizes to the value of £20 to four ‘Highly Commended’ in each category | Open to Year 9 students; a maximum of four entries for independent and international schools, unlimited for state schools |
| Closed 30/01/2026 | EMACT Latin and Greek Reading Competition | Each school may enter a maximum of four pupils for Intermediate and Seniors, and three pairs for Junior and two groups per school for Novices | |
| Closed 31/01/2026 | Myth Weaver Writing Contest | First prize a Galatea Stories book publishing deal, $300 USD cash; second prize $150 USD cash; third prize $50 USD cash; top three also receive 1 year of Galatea Unlimited and CandyJar, an Inkitt VIP Badge, a Contest Winner badge for your book cover, an Instagram feature on @inkittbooks | Open to anyone aged over 18 years old |
| Closed 22/02/2026 | St John’s College Oxford Classics and Ancient History Essay Competition | £100 book token for the winner of each category, an additional £75 book token to the overall winner, and a £75 book token to the best essay by a student who has not previously studied a Classical or Ancient subject. | Open to all UK students currently studying in year 12 or equivalent |
| Closed 23/02/2026 | LSA CA Ancient Worlds Competition | First prize £200, The LSA CA Champion Award and Laurel Trophy for Schools; second prize £100, third and fourth £50, other awards possible | Open to students aged 11-18 worldwide; internal heats within schools as only one entry per school is permitted |
| Closed 27/02/2026 | ARLT Reading Competition | Book tokens | Age categories Junior (years 8 and 9), Intermediate (years 10 and 11), and Senior (years 12 and 13) |
| Closed 27/02/2026 | Fitzwilliam College Ancient World and Classics Essay Competition | First prize £200, £25 book vouchers for runners-up | Open to students in year 12 or equivalent |
| Closed 15/03/2026 | Oxford Classics Creative Writing Competition | Book Tokens and a handling session at the Ashmolean | Open to all aged 11-13, 14-16, 17-18 |
| Closed 03/04/2026 | Minds Underground™ Classics Essay Competition | A £60 voucher to spend on either U2 Tuition or Minds Underground; a customised Resource Pack in their university application subject if applicable | Aimed at year 12 students, open to students in years 10-12 and re-applicants to university in year 13 |
| Closed 14/04/2026 | The Libra Essay Prize | First prize £50, second prize £30, third prize £20, all in book vouchers | Open to students in year 12 or 13 or equivalent |
| Closed 20/04/2026 | Think Essay Prize | Publication in the ‘Think’ journal for the winner, and a year’s free subscription to the journal for all shortlisted candidates | Open to those aged between 15-18 on the closing date |
| Closed 26/04/2026 | Armstrong Arts and Humanities Essay Competition | First prize £300, second prize £200, third prize £100 | Open to UK students in year 12 or equivalent year of education at state schools |
| Closed 31/05/2026 | John Locke Global Essay Prize | A scholarship worth US$5000 towards attending any John Locke Institute programme for the winners of each subject and the Junior category; a scholarship worth US$2000 for the second place and worth US$1000 for third. An honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship, for the overall winner. | Registration is needed to take part; age limit is 18 overall and 14 for the Junior prize |
| Closed 07/06/2026 | The Historical Association Historical Fiction Prize | Book token worth £25; commemorative notebook; 1 year subscription to the HA for the school | Open to students aged 9-14 in the academic year 2025/6; entries must be submitted by a teacher after an internal competition following a whole class teaching unit |
| Closed 08/06/2026 | Woolf Essay Competition | First prize £300 book token, second prize £200 book token, third prize £100 book token | Open to women students in year 12 or equivalent |
| Closed 22/06/2026 | EMACT Art Competition | £500 shared between winners and two runners up, in four categories | Open to students in KS2-KS5 |
| Closed 07/07/2026 | H.G. Wells Short Story Competition | £500 Senior prize, £1000 Junior prize, publication of shortlisted entries in an anthology | Will open for entries in January; free to enter for those under 21, £10 for 21+, £5 for 21+ with a valid student ID |
| Closed 15/07/2026 | Laurie Lee Prize for Writing (Gloucestershire) | £1000 to the winner of the 21+ category; £500 / £300 / £200 to the winner and runners-up in a young person’s category (16–20 years) | Open to those studying, working or living in Gloucestershire; 16-20 and 21+ categories; more information available in early 2026 |
| Closed 22/07/2026 | Julia Wood History Writing Prize | £500 | Open to students who are in sixth form and have not been in sixth form for more than two years |
| Closed 22/07/2026 | Mary Renault Classical Reception Writing Prize | Two or more prizes up to £300 each | Open to students who are in sixth form and have not been in sixth form for more than two years |
| Closed 31/07/2026 | Antigone Prize for Classical Philology | First prize the full Loeb Classical Library and £5000, or just £10,000, second prize £2000, third prize £1000 | Sign up by 31st January 2026 to be able to compete |
| Closed 31/07/2026 | Stephen Spender Prize | Publication and book prizes for three winners in each age category for individuals and schools; annual print subscription to Modern Poetry in Translation and a Stephen Spender Prize workshop for the school for the teacher category. | Categories for individual young people, schools (up to 5 entries per school per age category) and teachers |
| Closed 31/07/2026 | Trinity College Cambridge Robson History Essay Competition | First prize £600, shared between student and school with school’s portion in book tokens, second prize £400, also shared between student and school | Open to students in year 12 or equivalent |
| Closed 2026 | Foyle Young Poets Award 11-17 | Top 15 receive publication in winner’s print anthology and a mentoring package; next 85 publication in online anthology and names in print anthology; top 100 goodie bags, one year’s Youth Membership of the Society, and ongoing support from the Society | Open to those aged 11-17 years old |
