Do the stories have to be typed?
All stories need to be typed and not sent in by post or handwritten. They must be then submitted via our website. To submit stories you must be signed up as a submitter, to sign up as submitter – click here. If you have already signed up as a submitter, click here to login. The reason why we only accept stories submitted through our website is due to the volume of stories which 500 Words traditionally receives and the sophisticated system used to run the competition and allocate the stories to thousands of judges.
Can visually impaired students enter?
We’ve had a great success rate among visually impaired students previously, including a finalist! Should your student win, we will make sure that the prize is appropriate.
Is the competition appropriate for children with special needs or learning disabilities?
Right from day one, Chris Evans’ vision for 500 Words was to get children excited about reading and writing. All children, no matter what their ability. If you child struggles to write, then give one of these other options a go, as another way of creating their 500 Words story.
The emphasis of 500 Words – which we communicate to absolutely all of our judges at every stage – is on originality and a WOW factor. To this end, we would like to think that children with special educational needs could still be selected to progress.
We do also work closely with a variety of organisations on subjects like dyslexia and learning disabilities and our marketing campaign is weighted towards schools with high pupil premium. We have worked with about 20,000 schools so far on this competition, a lot of whom teach the competition in schools. We’ve had a number of medal winners with learning disabilities, and many more among our finalists. Increasing the diversity of our finalists is a constant fight, but we are working very hard on it.
Can people overseas enter?
While we would love to extend the reach of 500 Words, we already are a huge competition – we received 44,000 entries in 2024. We’re only a small team working on the competition, so you can imagine that we currently don’t have capacity to do so!
We would love all children whose parents are active service men or women to be able to enter 500 Words wherever they live but unfortunately due to legal and technical reasons anyone who enters has to be living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. The BBC are exploring whether this can change for future competitions, particularly where those children follow the UK curriculum.
Can a story be submitted without an adult’s approval?
No, we need an adult to approve the entry and agree to these Terms and Conditions (including the BBC’s use of the story submitted and the fictional nature of the story) on behalf of the entrant, by way of a check-box in the online form. The adult could be the child’s parent, guardian or teacher.
The adult must provide their own contact details (not the child’s) and the region in which the child lives.
If I’ve missed the submission deadline, can still I enter?
Unfortunately, once the 9pm deadline on 10 November has passed, entries will not be accepted.
Can a child submit more than one story?
Only one story may be entered per child and it has to be all the child’s own work. If you enter more than one story for a child then we’ll only consider the first submission as part of the competition.
Can an adult correct the spelling of a child’s story?
You may correct spelling where the meaning of the word might otherwise be misconstrued. However, we ask that none of the words used are changed. Grammar also has to stay the same. Stories are marked on their creative use of language, not on correct spelling.
May I scribe for my child?
You may scribe for your child, as long as none of the words used are changed. Stories are marked on their creative use of language, not on correct spelling.
What are the incentives for schools that receive free school meals?
This year, schools who receive 50% free school meals or higher and enter the competition are eligible to receive a £50 National Book Token, plus three £10 pupil book tokens. All you have to do is submit one story from your school.
Our school receives 50% free school meals – how do we know if we are eligible for the school book tokens?
Across the UK, every school with higher than 50% free school meals, or the equivalent eligibility, will qualify. We will be using information from the Education Company’s schools database to determine eligibility. All schools need to do is submit their stories and once the competition closes in November we will contact schools directly and share the rewards.
If you do not hear from us by the end of November and you believe you are eligible please contact the 500 Words team on 500words@bbc.co.uk.
