Competitions

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 for the first time 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 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.

Please find the criteria and guidelines for both competitions in the PDF file below.

Please find the cover sheet to attach to competition entries below.

Previous editions:

The 2024 Digital Anthology is available to view here:

The 2025 Digital Anthology is available to view here:

Unleash the power of language and creativity - the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, presented by Queen’s College’s Translation Exchange, invites students aged 11–18 across the UK to reimagine literary texts through translation. Free to enter, the Prize offers contests in French (into English and Welsh), German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish - and equips teachers with free, high-quality teaching resources to spark passion for multilingualism in the classroom.
This competition honours the legacy of Anthea Bell, celebrates linguistic excellence, and seeks to inspire the next generation of translators. Enter now and give your students the chance to shine on a national stage! 

For more information: Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators - The Queen's College, Oxford 

The GCHQ National Language Competition is returning this year, taking place from 16-20 November 2026. Teachers and home educators can register their interest by emailing [email protected].

The GCHQ National Language Competition | GCHQ

The National Spelling Bee continues for Year 7s (French, German and Spanish)!

There are 4 stages with 50/100 words to learn at each stage (300 altogether). Following latest SLA research - a fun, motivating way of getting your Year 7s to learn all that vocab they need to know.  For more information visit the website: National Spelling Bee Competition or contact Sarah Schechter on [email protected] for more information.