UniScoops Writing Competition 2025

The UniScoops Writing Competition, for students in Year 10-13, encourages students to go beyond the curriculum and pursue their academic interests in a fun and engaging way. Although you’ll still have the chance to develop your ability for academic research and independent thought, unlike most other competitions, you won’t be writing an essay. Instead, you’ll be crafting your own ‘scoop’ in the classic UniScoops style!

🚀 How to Participate

Choose Your Topic:

Select a topic that sparks your curiosity. Whether it's science, humanities, technology, or arts – the choice is yours!

Craft Your Scoop:

Instead of an essay, you’ll be writing a 'scoop'! Provide a whistle-stop breakdown of your chosen topic, and share key takeaways that encourage people to think critically. You should also share the resources you used to write your scoop. Check out our website to read previous scoops to give you a better understanding of the format and length of a scoop.

Make It Engaging:

What makes UniScoops unique is its fun, digestible, and accessible nature; we encourage creativity! Add visuals, infographics, or any creative element to make your scoop visually appealing and intellectually stimulating. Maybe you’ll want to add pop culture references to make it more relatable to students!

🔎 Key Information

Prizes:

The first prize is £100, and the second prize is £50. The winning scoops will be featured on the UniScoops platform.

Eligibility Criteria:

The UniScoops Writing Competition is open to all students in Year 10, Year 11, Year 12, and Year 13 (or equivalent) during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Submission Deadline:

Sunday 27th April 2025 at 23:59 GMT. We are unable to consider submissions after the deadline.

How to submit your scoop:

Please submit your scoop by filling in the form here. If for any reason the form does not work, please email your scoop as a PDF/Word Document to [email protected] with the subject line ‘UniScoops Writing Competition’. In the email, make sure to include your full name, school, and year group.

❓ FAQ

What does it mean to write a ‘scoop’?

We call our short articles on UniScoops a ‘scoop’. We recommend having a look on our website (or the one below) to see how scoops are structured.

It is made up of three sections:

1. Introduction: Short breakdown of the topic, usually consisting of 1-2 paragraphs.

2. Things to consider: Three bullet points (key takeaways, as well as some prompts to allow students to think independently)

3. Find out more: Extra resources, such as wider reading, podcasts, videos, etc.

Do I need a bibliography?

Yes. You should put any references under the ‘Find out more’ section of your scoop.

Is there a word limit for a scoop?

No. However, students should bear in mind the form and target audience of UniScoops (i.e. a short article). Scoops are meant to be short and sweet: if they’re too long, you might lose engagement from your readers. We recommend having a look on our website for guidance on how long scoops tend to be.

Can I submit more than one scoop?

We ask that students only submit one entry per person.

Any further questions should be directed to [email protected]. Good luck!

2023-2024 Competition Result

The winner of the 2023-2024 UniScoops Writing Competition is Esther Greaves, on her scoop Shinto Symbolism in Spirited Away.

The runner-up is Anthony Opiah (Bilborough College), on his scoop From sheep to cannibals to mad cow disease. Shedding light on our mysterious killer.

The following submissions were highly commended by the assessors:

• Mark Merrigan (Lumen Christi College) - Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Cockroach?

• Olivia Mardling (Prendergast School) - Can you be TOO rich?

• Mia Thomas-Sewell (Stratford Girls' Grammar School) - Could we ever make a machine that could think?

We would like to thank all applicants for their submissions. The assessors were very pleased with the wide variety of subjects explored and the general standard of the entries.