Aldevere Research Question Prize
Create a free account to applyExplain a difficult question in a subject you care about to a curious 12-year-old in an essay of no more than 1,000 words. Entries are judged blind, and every valid entry receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and scholarships towards a programme.
The Aldevere Research Question Prize is a free essay competition for students aged 14 to 18 in any country and any school system. Entrants choose a difficult question in a subject they care about and explain it to a curious 12-year-old in no more than 1,000 words.
The aim is not to sound impressive, but to show clear thinking about a genuinely difficult question: what it is really asking, why the answer is not obvious, what the main ideas or disagreements are, and what remains uncertain.
Entries are judged blind against published criteria, with every valid entry receiving a certificate. Winners receive cash prizes and scholarships towards an Aldevere programme, while highly commended entries receive a certificate and may be published with the entrant’s consent.
The competition also offers written comments for entries submitted by the feedback deadline, and it is designed to reward original thinking, clarity and honest handling of complexity rather than polish or ornate language.
15 August 2026
16 November 2026
Entries close at 23:59 on 15 November 2026 (anywhere on earth). Results by 10 December 2026; the next round opens on 15 January 2027 and closes on 15 March 2027.
15 August 2026, 00:00 – 15 November 2026, 23:59
November 2026 round
Location
- Aged 14 to 18 at the closing date.
- Open to students in any country.
- Open to students in any school system.
- Open to students studying any subject.
- One entry per student per round.
- Joint entries are not accepted.
- The work must be the entrant's own.
- The work must not have been submitted for assessment elsewhere.
- Entrants under 18 must provide a parent or guardian's name and email address.
- AI use is limited to spelling and grammar and must be declared in a short note at the end of the essay.
- Sources must be cited where used.
Free to enter.
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