Would your child like to take part in the BBC’s 500 Words competition? This competition is a great opportunity for the children to engage more with literacy and writing, building confidence and inspiring the next generation of budding writers!

Entries are now open and will close on Friday 7th November at 9pm.

Parents will need to submit their child’s entry via the BBC website 500 words, but we have already spent time in school watching and participating in a live lesson, as well as showing the children how to enter.

There are two age categories: 5-7 and 8-11 year-olds. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked – as has always been the case for 500 Words, it’s about our writers’ brilliant creativity! There are prizes to be won – each winner will take home a bundle of books and the gold winners will also win 500 books for their school library.

50 finalists will be invited to a star-studded grand final in February 2026, which will be supported by His Majesty The King.  The official panel of celebrity judges are Sir Lenny Henry, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson and Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

What are the rules around 500 Words stories?

Children are encouraged to write a story they would love to read themselves.

All 500 Words stories must:

• Be 500 words or less (title is not included in the number)
• Be written by an individual and not a group
• Be a child’s own original idea
• Be prose, not rap or poem

Stories must not:

• Give any personal details of the child, including their name
• Recount an historical event (but they can use a real person or historical character as a source of inspiration)
• Be created, written or developed by AI

In every 500 Words competition, all stories are judged on the following criteria:

• Characterisation
• Plot
• Originality
• Language
• Enjoyment

If your child is interested, please click on the link below to access resources from last year’s competition – read and listen to the top 25 stories.

500 words
500 words: Everything you need to know

St Mark's Writing Competition

In addition to the National competition, we will have an Inter-School competition too, with prizes given!

If you would like to enter our school writing competition, please can your child bring a copy of their story into school.  Prizes will be given to Lower school and Upper school winners. The deadline for entries will be the same as the BBC 500 Words competition November 7th.

Good luck to all the children who take part and enjoy writing your stories!