Mythology Competition 2027

We are delighted to share information about our 2027 Competition – note that this is now a UK only Competition

We are delighted to announce this academic year’s Mythology Competition for school students, or those being Home-educated in the UK who are in Key Stages 2 and 3 (see age boundaries in General Guidelines below).  

Students are invited to submit a piece of creative writing, art or an animation in response to all or a part of:

KS2 –  Hercules’ 11th Labour: The Apples of the Hesperides

KS3 – Jason and Medea take the Golden Fleece

We would suggest students familiarise themselves with the myth through any anthology, and perhaps also listen to the myth being read.  Teachers will need to support their students so that they are aware of the brief, and the myth, and know and follow what is expected.  

Submissions, following the guidelines laid out below, should be made to tildesley20@gmail.com by 23:59 (BST) on Friday 16th April 2027.  I will always acknowledge receipt of your entries so, if you do not hear back from me within 24 hours, please assume I have not received your entries and email me again.  Occasionally school firewalls block emails with a large number of attachments, so it may be worth trying to send work through a different email address, or sending multiple emails.  

• Creative Writing

This can be a play, a retelling, a poem or any other creative written response.  There is a word limit of 500 words; 10% over is acceptable, but over that the first 550 words will be marked only. The piece should be submitted as a Word document. We are sorry but scanned, handwritten pieces will not be judged. All entries must be in English. Please note that pieces are not judged on any accompanying artwork, purely on the writing.  

• Art

This can be a painting, a sculpture in any material, a collage or any other artistic endeavour. Please submit as a .jpeg, with views of all angles if appropriate and the right way up. The student should not be visible in any of the photographs. Please do not submit digital Art as it will not be judged; all pieces submitted should be 100% original and hand drawn or crafted.  

• Animation

This can be silent, spoken or sung! It can be animated or use, for example, Play Mobil figures or home-made puppets. It should not use real people. Please submit as an unlisted YouTube link; this will enable access for both myself and the judges. The entries should be no longer than 5 minutes. Whilst we will endeavour to access any we are sent in different formats, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. This means judging of entries in formats other than that specified above may not be possible.

Detailed Guidelines

• Each school, or home-schooled parent/carer/educator, needs to submit an entry form, with their entry/entries. The postal address on the entry form should be the one to be used should book tokens be awarded, as they are sent in the post. 
• Download the KS2 Entry Form here
• Download the KS3 Entry Form here
• NO AI is to be used.  There is a confirmation statement on the entry form to this effect.  The responsible adult is agreeing that no AI has been used by submitting the entries.
• Schools may submit up to 5 entries per Key Stage. This can be a combination across the formats if preferred. Please note that this is a change from previous years, both to maintain the calibre of entries and to ensure that the judges have sufficient time to give each piece the individual attention it warrants.
• All entries should be by individual students, not groups. 
• All entries must be clearly labelled with the student’s first name and initial. This is as the winning entries may be published on the website. If you do not want your pupils’ work to be published, please note this clearly on the entry form.
• Please include a brief description in the relevant column of the work, e.g. what it is, and how it was completed (in class, in an afterschool club, as a homework assignment etc).
• Please be aware that comic strips can be difficult to place in Creative Writing or Art. The school should place in the category they think is more suitable, and judges will judge accordingly. We advise against comic strips and suggest that this is a message that is passed to the students.
• Following the judging process, schools and/or home-educators will be notified by email of prize-winning, or otherwise, entrants, and book tokens will be posted accordingly. We aim to have at least one 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each category, but this changes year on year according to numbers of entries. Please note that judges will try to give individual feedback, but this may not always be possible due to the number of entries.
• Key Stage specifications for those not following the UK curriculum are: Key Stage 2  – Years 3 to 6 (age 7 – 11); Key Stage 3 – Years 7 – 9 (age 11 – 14).

Some of last year’s winning entries!