The ISA Essay Competition is an annual opportunity for pupils at ISA Members’ schools to showcase their writing skills. Young writers are invited to submit entries to a range of categories. Open to Years 5-13.

Open for entries: Wednesday 7 January 2026
Deadline:  Thursday 7 May 2026

Click here for the competition's rules and guidelines
You must be registered and logged in to see the entry form.

Competitions are only open to ISA Members' schools and can only be made by a member of staff. If you are having problems entering, please contact [email protected]

Click here to view last year's winners

Please click here to see the full results list and check out below the winning entries:

Click here for the Year 5-6 wining entries 
Click here for the Year 7-8 wining entries 
Click here for the Year 9-11 wining entries 
Click here for the Year 12-13 wining entries 

Join email updates (you will need to sign-in/create an account)

Click here for the ISA policies

If you have any queries about our competitions, please contact us at [email protected].

Only schools whose Head is a member of ISA are eligible to enter these competitions. Please contact our membership department if you wish to make an enquiry about joining ISA.