The UK’s most successful writing competition for children, BBC 500 Words, opens today (Tuesday 24 September).

The competition, which is supported by BBC Teach, encourages children of all abilities to dive deep into their imagination and write the story they would love to read in 500 words or less, without fear of spelling, grammar or punctuation errors.

Open to ages 5-7 years and 8-11 years, the competition is being launched by Children’s Laureate and 500 Words judge Frank Cottrell-Boyce, with a message from Her Majesty The Queen, on The One Show this evening (Tuesday 24 September, BBC One, 7pm).

Frank Cottrell-Boyce says: “The thing I most love about 500 Words is how unpredictable it is. When I open the envelope of stories I never know whether I’m going to laugh, cry or shiver with horror. The best feeling is when a child has put something of themselves into the story. Then it’s like meeting a new person.”

Helen Foulkes, Head of BBC Education, says: “Since 500 Words began, it has inspired over a million children across the UK to write their own short-stories. This year we want to hear from even more children, no matter what their ability. It’s all about telling great stories with no need to worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. We can’t wait to read what children come up with and celebrate the best homegrown storytelling from all across the UK.”

Once again, the competition has been given the support of Her Majesty The Queen. This year’s winners will have the chance to meet The Queen, with the grand final taking place at Buckingham Palace in February 2025.

BBC 500 Words competition prizes

50 finalists, along with their parents or carers will be invited to a star-studded final in February 2025 at Buckingham Palace where the top six stories (bronze, silver and gold in each category) are be read out by celebrities. The event will be shown as part of a special 500 Words programme with The One Show (BBC One, 7pm) on World Book Day, Thursday 6 March 2025.

At the event, the bronze, silver and gold winners of both age groups, 5-7 and 8-11, receive a selection of exciting prizes, including having their stories read by famous faces and a bundle of books to help continue their love of the written word.

The two gold winners receive not only the height of 500 Words judge, Sir Lenny Henry, in books, but 500 books for their schools.

Silver winners get their hands on the height of Her Majesty in books, and bronze winners receive the average height of a 7 or 11 year old in books.

The winning stories will be illustrated by children’s illustrators, framed, and put into a 500 Words winners’ book. The illustrators, co-ordinated by Anderson Press, are Momoko Abe, Dapo Adeola, Rob Biddulph, Yasmeen Ismail, Lydia Monks and Nigel Parkinson.

Every finalist receives a £20 National Book Token and their stories will be recorded by the BBC Radio Drama Company and published to the BBC Teach website.

Every story (excluding the winners) is entered into a random draw, where one lucky winner will be invited to the grand final, and their school will receive a bundle of 500 books and literacy wall art of their choice.

Meet the judges

This year’s stellar line up of judges include Malorie Blackman, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Olivia Dean, Sir Lenny Henry, Charlie Higson and Francesca Simon and the expert panel will be chaired by The One Show’s Alex Jones.

How to enter BBC 500 Words

The competition is open from Tuesday 24 September, and all stories need to be typed and submitted by an adult by 9pm on Friday 8 November.

To celebrate the launch, and help children get started with creative ideas for their stories, a star-studded 500 Words Live Lesson will be available to watch at 11am on Wednesday 25 September on the BBC Teach website and CBBC.

CBBC’s Joe Tasker and Shereen Cutkelvin will be joined by judges Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Charlie Higson and Francesca Simon, along with a team of young storytellers, to prove that anyone can write a story in 500 Words or less by taking inspiration from everyday objects. Author and actor Nathan Bryon will also share his top tips on creating an interesting character and thrilling plot.

In addition, a special series of school visits are set to take place across the UK to encourage entries from young creative minds, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

From 24 September to 10 October, BBC Teach, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, World Book Day and Oxford University Press will visit six primary schools with various children’s authors including BBC Radio 1’s Greg James and Chris Smith, and Sir Lenny Henry. CBBC and CBeebies presenters Shanequa Paris, DeGraft Mensah, Rhys Stephenson and Ben Cajee host the visits.

BBC Teach run 500 Words in partnership with: Anderson Press, Beano, EFL in the Community, HeadteacherChat, Libraries Connected, National Book Tokens, National Literacy Trust, Oxford University Press, Pobble, Premier League Primary Stars, Publishers Association, The Reading Agency and World Book Day.

Mike Stirling, Beano’s Director of Mischief, says: “At Beano, we know there’s nothing better than being a kid, and we can’t wait to see everyone’s imagination and creativity burst onto the page. That’s why, together with BBC 500 Words, we’re introducing the super fun CIMOC technique, which helps them start with a picture to get the creativity flowing. We want to encourage even more children to create their own stories, by giving them a fun, exciting tool to express themselves, which is what Beano does best.”

Debbie Cook, EFL’s Director of Community, says: “Football Clubs are at the heart of their communities, with over 47.6 million people living within 15 miles of an EFL Club.

“Our Football Club charities across England and Wales work in thousands of schools. In addition to the activities that you might expect them to be supporting, such as participation in sport, our teams help support many areas of the curriculum, such as literacy and citizenship, alongside key life skills such as the importance of healthy eating.

“We are therefore delighted to help support the BBC 500 words competition, that helps fire children’s imaginations and encourages them to write creatively.”

HH

Notes

If you have a child or have a class, sports group or community group who are interested in 500 Words, you may want to help the children to put in their individual entries. Head to the BBC 500 Words website where you can find everything you need to know about the competition as well as full terms and conditions and privacy notices.

The competition closes on Friday 8 November 2024 at 9pm.

For partners and further details, visit the BBC 500 Words website for everything you need to know about the BBC 500 Words competition for 2024/25.