Better Planet Awards 2026–27: competition rules

1. Who may enter

• The competition is open to secondary schools in England, including sixth forms, all-through schools, special schools and pupil referral units.
• Entries must describe a project carried out by students aged 11 to 18 at the entering school.
• Every entry must be submitted by a member of the school's staff, who acts as the school's contact throughout.
• Employees and trustees of Better Planet Education, and members of their immediate families, may not enter.

2. Entries

• A school may submit more than one entry, provided each entry describes a genuinely different project. A separate entry form is required for each.
• Each entry must take one of two forms: a written report of no more than 1,000 words, accompanied by no more than 20 photographs; or a video of no more than three minutes.
• Entries must be in English.
• The project may have been running for any length of time, including one started specifically for this competition.
• Entries must be the students' own work. Entries that are substantially the work of staff or of anyone other than the students may be disqualified.
• Entries must not contain anything unlawful, offensive, or in breach of anyone else's rights, including copyright in music used in a video.

3. How to enter

• Entries are made through the online entry form, which must be completed in full by a member of school staff.
• Where files are too large to upload, they may be sent to awards@betterplaneteducation.org.uk using WeTransfer or Smash, with the school's name clearly stated.
• We will acknowledge every entry by email. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within five working days, please contact us, as we cannot be responsible for entries we never received.
• The closing date is 23 April 2027. Entries received after this date will not be considered.

4. Photographs, video and permissions

• Before submitting, the school must obtain permission from a parent or guardian of every student who appears in a photograph or video, on terms that allow Better Planet Education to publish the image.
• By entering, the school confirms that these permissions are held and will produce them on request.
• Better Planet Education will never publish the name of any student shown in a photograph or video clip, and will always re-confirm permission is in place with the school prior to publication.
• A school may withdraw its permission at any time by emailing awards@betterplaneteducation.org.uk, and we will remove the material from our own channels as soon as we reasonably can.

5. Judging

• Entries are judged by Better Planet Education's Young Trustees, aged 16 to 24, together with members of staff.
• Judging is based on how far the project was led by the students, the difference it made, the thinking behind it, and how clearly it is presented.
• The judges' decision is final, and we are not able to enter into correspondence about individual entries.
• If too few entries of sufficient standard are received, we reserve the right not to award every prize.

6. Prizes

• One winning school receives £1,000. Four runners-up receive £500 each. Eight highly commended schools receive £250 each. Ten commended schools receive £100 each.
• All prizes are paid to the school, by bank transfer, on receipt of the school's bank details.
• Prizes are for the school to use as it sees fit.
• There is no cash alternative and prizes are not transferable.
• Winning schools will be notified using the contact details given on the entry form by 28 May 2027. If we cannot reach a winning school within 30 days, we reserve the right to reallocate the prize.

7. Use of entries

• Copyright in each entry remains with the school and its students.
• By entering, the school grants Better Planet Education a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to reproduce the entry, or extracts from it, in its publicity, on its website and social media, in its reports to funders, and in materials for other schools.
• We will credit the school unless asked not to. We will not name individual students.

8. Data protection

• Better Planet Education is the data controller for personal information provided on the entry form.
• We use it to administer the competition, to contact the school about its entry, and, where the school has agreed, to send information about our work. We do not sell or share it with third parties for their own marketing.
• Our privacy policy is available on this website.

• We may amend these rules if we need to, and any changes will be published on this page.
• If circumstances beyond our control make it necessary, we may suspend or cancel the competition. We will tell entrants if we do.
• These rules are governed by the law of England and Wales.
• Questions about the competition or these rules: awards@betterplaneteducation.org.uk.