BBC’s 500 Words is the UK’s most successful children’s writing competition with over a million children taking part since it began in 2011.

500 Words 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 having to worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation.

There are two age categories :  5-7 year olds and  8-11 year olds. The competition opens on Tuesday 24 September, until 9pm Friday 8 November 2024 with the winners being revealed on World Book Day in March 2025. However, it’s not too early to start writing now! Children can write their story at any time as long as it’s submitted during the dates above! 

Writing a 500 Words story is a brilliant activity that can celebrate a love of stories and writing across your school. 83% of teachers, who submitted entries in 2023, said their students were more engaged with literacy and writing as a result in taking part.

The top 50 finalists will be invited to a star-studded final in February at a spectacular location. Gold, silver and bronze awards will be given out in each category. Winners will receive a bundle of books and their story illustrated – with gold winners also receiving 500 books for their school.

As an incentive for all children to take part, each story (apart from the top 50) will be entered into a random draw – one child and parent will be invited to the final, receive a bundle of books and 500 books for their school.

500 Words is a competition for children of all abilities and backgrounds. We also offer £50 book tokens to schools with 50 percent of children on free school meals and three £10 book tokens donated by National Book Tokens.  All schools need to do is submit stories and we will do the rest.