I Have A Dream Poetry Writing Competition for 11-18 year-olds

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This summer term, inspire your students to express themselves and get writing with I Have A Dream, open for the final time. They have the opportunity to consider future hopes and dreams, whether for themselves or the world around them. Or perhaps they'll dive further into creativity and write about wonderful dreamlands or creepy nightmares.

The planning is all done for you with the ready-made resources, saving you vital time during this busy exam season. With a lesson plan, PowerPoint, idea generation activities and a poem planning sheet, you'll have a classroom of confident poets in no time.

You can use this activity to help students build their writing and vocabulary skills while reflecting on social issues, personal growth or imagination, and you can link it to key themes in English, history or PSHE.

Students can use any poetic style to structure their ideas, and the theme is open to interpretation so it's a fabulous chance for them to write in a way that suits them, creating something unique and personal. The awesome prizes will also encourage them to take part, with £250, Apple AirPods and cinema vouchers to be won!

Request as many entry forms as you need from the Printed Resources tab to get your whole school involved and we'll post them out for free. Alternatively, check out the Writing Portal in your teacher account where students directly type their work, allowing you to submit them all together with the touch of a button.

What do your students dream about? We can't wait to find out!

[Rules] =>

Only one entry per student, there is no limit to the number of entries per school. Please submit your entries altogether where possible!
Use one Teacher Entry Form per teacher entering.
Entries must be your students' own original work. (Please note on the entry if there is anything we need to take into consideration when reading the work.)
Poems can be submitted on the entry form or an A4 sheet of paper or typed (on a computer or using the Online Writing Portal)
Each student's name, age and school name should be included on their entry.
No word or line limit (but we do recommend staying under 750 words)
UK entrants only.
Copyright remains with the author.
Free to enter.

[School Prizes] =>

The school that submits the best overall set of entries will win £1,000 and Young Writers' Award of Excellence.

PLUS every participating school receives a free copy of the book their pupils feature in!

(Remember, you receive 1 free copy for every 30 entries you submit! E.g. 1-30 entries you receive 1 copy, 31-60 entries you receive 2 copies, etc.)

[Student Prizes] =>

Our favourite poem will win £250 and a trophy

One 2nd place winner will get a pair of Apple AirPods and a trophy

Three 3rd place winners will each win a £50 cinema gift card.

PLUS

Every entrant receives a bookmark. We award a certificate of merit to all young writers whose work we'd love to publish.

(Winners will be chosen from published entries received in the summer term 2026. Prizes will be awarded in the autumn term.)

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This is your last chance to enter I Have A Dream.

This summer term, take this chance to express yourself and get writing with I Have A Dream, open for the final time. You could consider future hopes and dreams, whether personal or connected to wider issues. Or perhaps you'll dive further into creativity and write about wonderful dreamlands or creepy nightmares.

You can use any poetic style to structure your ideas, and the theme is open to interpretation so it's a fabulous chance to write in a way that suits you, creating something unique and personal.

There are awesome prizes up for grabs, including £250, Apple AirPods and cinema vouchers to be won!

Download the entry form below along with example poems and ideas which will help get you started if you need some inspiration.

What do you dream about? We can't wait to find out!

How To Enter

Ask permission from your parent/guardian to email your entry along with your name and full home address to: [email protected]

Upload your entry at www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/enter

Post your entry along with your name and full home address to:

Young Writers SS
Remus House
Peterborough
PE2 9BF

Closing Date: 22nd May 2026

[Independent Rules] =>

Only one entry per person.
Your entry must be your own original work.
UK entrants only.
Your poem can be submitted on the entry form or an A4 sheet of paper or typed.
Your name, age and full home address should be included on your entry.
Copyright remains with the author.
No word or line limit (but we do recommend staying under 750 words)

[Independent Prizes] =>

Our favourite poem will win £250 and a trophy

One 2nd place winner will get a pair of Apple AirPods and a trophy

Three 3rd place winners will each win a £50 cinema gift card.

PLUS

Every entrant receives a bookmark. We award a certificate of merit to all young writers whose work we'd love to publish.

(Winners will be chosen from published entries received in the summer term 2026. Prizes will be awarded in the following term. Independent entrants are eligible to win.)

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This competition is now closed.

If you have late entries, please email us at [email protected] and we'll do our best to accommodate them.

Open competitions can be found here.

What happens now?

Our editorial team will read every single entry. Any child whose work they'd love to publish in a book will be sent a letter and certificate. Children whose work hasn't met the competition criteria will have the chance to resubmit their work. Winners will be chosen from published pieces once all the books in the series have been published.

Competition Timeline

Stage	Date	Status
Letters Sent	By 29^th June 2026	⏳ In Progress
Books Published	27^th July 2026 - 5^th October 2026	⏳ Coming Soon
Winners Announced	31^st October 2026	⏳ Coming Soon

Please note we aim to keep these dates as accurate as possible but can be subject to change.

For more detailed information about your school's entries, please log in (or create) your teacher account here using the email you included on your teacher entry form.