2026 Competitions
Leeds City of Languages hosts a range of exciting competitions for all ages! Some are designed specifically for University of Leeds students, while others are open to schools and the wider community. From creative writing and language challenges to arts and cultural activities, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Find out more and get involved!
Mother Tongue Other Tongue Poetry Competition
Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a multi-lingual poetry project, created as a Laureate Education Project by Professor Carol Ann Duffy DBE (UK Poet Laureate 2009-2019) to celebrate cultural diversity and the many languages spoken in schools across the UK. This initiative originally began running in the North West, coordinated by the Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Met University.
After a successful launch of the competition in Leeds as part of Leeds Languages Week 2024, we are delighted to announce that we will be running the competition again this year, giving even more students the opportunity to celebrate languages and share their creativity through poetry.
We welcome submissions from students aged 8-18, with the deadline for entry 26th October 2026.
Schools can submit up to 6 entries per competition (i.e. up to 6 Mother Tongue entries, and up to 6 Other Tongue entries). We ask that teachers complete the attached cover sheet to ensure all entries are complete and correctly attributed. Full details of each competition can be viewed below.
Mother Tongue
Mother Tongue
Mother Tongue is a multi-lingual poetry competition celebrating the diversity of languages spoken in Leeds schools. The competition invites students to take an existing poem, song, or lullaby in their mother tongue and create a short commentary in English to accompany it. This can be an original piece written in the student's mother tongue, or a piece that has been shared, remembered, or taught, such as a poem, song, or lullaby.
- Who can enter: Students aged 8-18 years old
- Any language is welcome
- Submission Format: Each entry should include the original piece (poem, song, or lullaby) and a commentary in English of no more than 500 words
- Assessment: Entries will not be judged on the piece/poem submitted (or the translation, if provided), but on the English commentary, which will be assessed for inclusion in the digital anthology.
- For more info, read the competition's criteria and guidelines
This competition is a celebration of cultural diversity, multilingualism, and creative reflection, giving students the chance to explore their language and share their cultural heritage with a wider audience.
Other Tongue
The Other Tongue competition invites students to create a poem in a second language they are learning, whether at school, in community groups, or through personal study. Submissions must be an original poem written in a language that the student is learning.
- Who can enter: Students aged 8-18 years old
- Languages: We can currently accept submissions in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Arabic, and Portuguese. (Unfortunately languages are limited due to the availability of staff who are able to judge the competition)
- Submission Format: Each entry should include the poem along with a translation or explanation of the poem to give context. (This may be used if a piece is selected for inclusion in the anthology).
- For more info, read the competition's criteria and guidelines
This competition celebrates language learning, creativity, and cross-cultural engagement, giving students the opportunity to express themselves creatively in a language that is not their native tongue.
Competition Criteria and coversheet
Please find the criteria and guidelines for both competitions in the PDF file below.
Competition Criteria and Guidelines (pdf), File DownloadPlease find the cover sheet to attach to competition entries below.
MTOT 2026 Cover Sheet (docx), File DownloadPrevious Winners
2025 Competition Winners
The Leeds City of Languages Team are pleased to share the poems selected for the anthology this year. Thank you to all students who participated, the judges very much enjoyed reading your poems!