The Parliamentary Press Gallery Writing Competition
Supported by Dods - The first name in political information and communication.
As part of the celebrations for its 200th anniversary in 2003, the Parliamentary Press Gallery inaugurated an annual writing competition for students, designed to complement citizenship lessons in schools.
Since then hundreds of students and schools throughout the country have taken part in the competition. Each year a specific theme is chosen for the two age categories to write on.
This year, as well as having the continued support of DodsParliamentary Communications, the competition is being additionally sponsored by the Parliamentary Education Service and the Association of School and College Leaders.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is the only professional association and trade union in Britain to speak exclusively for secondary school and college leaders. The association has more than 14,000 members in schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Until January 2006, it was known as the Secondary Heads Association.
The Parliamentary Education Service works on behalf of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, providing a range of products and services to help young people engage with the work and role of Parliament.
As a regional finalist, you will be welcomed to Westminster for a day to remember.
Having arrived in London you and your guest will enjoy an evening at City Inn, Westminster. Having spent the night in this contemporary Westminster hotel, winners will make the short journey to The Palace of Westminster. The day will include meeting political journalists, ministers, Members of Parliament and touring the Palace of Westminster.
Work Experience
A small number of previous winners have benefited from work experience with Dods and the Press Gallery. This programme is for category winners who are 17 or over and interested in pursuing a career in the political arena. Whilst Dods and the Press Gallery would love to extend this opportunity to everyone, please note that places on the programme in any given year are necessarily limited and may be offered subject to the criteria specified by Dods and/or the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Details on how to apply for work experience will be provided to winners aged 17 and over, on request.
What they say...
"The fact that this competition has stimulated such interest is a sign of how engaged many young people want to be with political discussion and decision-making if given the chance. It´s a great way to encourage a new generation to learn more about Parliament and the political process, and I would like to wish you even greater success in the years to come." David Cameron MP, Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party
“This competition is a really innovative way of engaging young people beyond Westminster in our political process and so I’m really pleased that so many people have got involved. Too often young people feel alienated and excluded from politics, and this competition is a great showcase of their wealth of talent.
I was very impressed by the quality of the winning entries, and look forward to reading more ideas in the future about how to make Britain a better place and how to engage young people. I would like to wish everyone the best of luck.” Nick Clegg MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats
What they say...
"Young people are interested in politics; even if they don’t always make it to the ballot box at election time. I was impressed with the quality of entries at last years’ writing competition – and even more so when I met one of the winners who came from my constituency.
Can I invite all my colleagues at Westminster to get in touch with their Secondary Schools and ask them to be part of the Parliamentary Press Gallery writing competition. Young people won’t tell us what they think we the politicians should do if we can’t be bothered to ask them!"
"The fact that this competition has stimulated such interest is a sign of how engaged many young people want to be with political discussion and decision-making if given the chance. It´s a great way to encourage a new generation to learn more about Parliament and the political process, and I would like to wish you even greater success in the years to come."
“This competition is a really innovative way of engaging young people beyond Westminster in our political process and so I’m really pleased that so many people have got involved. Too often young people feel alienated and excluded from politics, and this competition is a great showcase of their wealth of talent.
"Young people are interested in politics; even if they don’t always make it to the ballot box at election time. I was impressed with the quality of entries at last years’ writing competition – and even more so when I met one of the winners who came from my constituency.
