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.
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.)
[Tips] =>A huge thank you to everyone who took part in I Have A Dream! We've loved reading all of the entries we received.
[Winner Word] => [Schools/Clubs] => Schools [Thumbnail] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1756288495-3455-I-Have-A-Dream_KS3_Page-Icon.jpg [Background] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1756288495-5111-I-Have-A-Dream_KS3_Background.jpg [Logo] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1756288495-6414-I-Have-A-Dream_KS3_Banner-Logo.png [Independent Intro] =>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.
How To Enter
Ask permission from your parent/guardian to email your entry along with your name and full home address to: [email protected]
OR
Upload your entry at www.youngwriters.co.uk/competitions/enter
OR
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
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.)
[Meta Title] => I Have A Dream Poetry Writing Competition for 11-18 year-olds [Meta Description] => I Have A Dream competition for 11-18 year-olds is perfect to help inspire your class with writing poetry. [Meta Keywords] => I Have A Dream, poetry, poem, poetry competition, teacher toolkit, teacher resources, free resources, writing resources, poetry resources [Share Title] => I Have A Dream Poetry Writing Competition for 11-18 year-olds [Share Description] => Teach your students how to write a poem, and inspire them to express themselves and make their opinions heard. [Layout] => main-comp [Icon] => https://bonacia-sites.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/young-writers/ems/competitions/1756288496-6507-I-Have-A-Dream_KS3_Page-Icon.jpg [Category] => Secondary 11-18 [Type] => poetry [Country] => UK [Resource Hub Text] =>
Congratulations to all the winners! The results for this competition have been published.
View WinnersOpen competitions can be found here.
Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Peterborough, PE2 9BF
[email protected] | 01733 890066