Children and Young People's Open T&Cs

Here are the terms and conditions for our 2026 Children and Young People's Open.

  • One entry per person.
  • Competition is open to any child or young person who resides or studies in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset or Somerset at the time of the competition closing date (5pm on 3 May 2026).
  • The competition consists of four categories: Early Years - open to anyone of preschool age, Primary School – open to any child who attends primary school or is of primary school age and is home schooled; Secondary School – open to any child or young person who attends secondary school or is of secondary school age (who may be home schooled, on an apprenticeship scheme, attending college or further education etc.); 18-25 years old (inclusive) is open to any young person who is no longer of school age, including but not limited to, young people aged 25 or under attending higher education establishments.
  • Entries must be submitted digitally.
  • Entries must be an original piece of work and not created using AI image generators.
  • All entries must include entrant’s name, age, category entered, contact details (telephone and email address) and the title of the work. For entrants under 18 this must include a parent or guardian’s contact details, which will act as validation that the parent or guardian agrees to the child entering the competition.
  • Entries must be a high-quality photograph or scan of the original artwork (jpg, minimum 300dpi) or a film work (MP4). They should be emailed to [email protected], with the subject as 'Children and Young People’s Open 2026 ' and all requested details in the body of the email. Please label your file with your initials, the date of submission, the category - EY (early years), P (primary), S (secondary) or YP (young person) - and the first part of your postcode – for example, Maisie Peters aged 8 from Plympton who submits an entry on 15 March would be MP150326P-PL7 or John Brown aged 14 from Wellington who submits his entry on 10 April would be JB100426S-TA21.
  • For entries submitted as a group from a school (such as a class or year group batch of entries), it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that parents or guardians have given permission for their child to take part.
  • All entries must be received by 5pm on 3 May 2026. We regret that any entry received after this date will not be considered.
  • By entering the competition, entrants accept that The Box may put their work on public display. Entry does not guarantee display.
  • By entering the competition, entrants agree to have their name, age and drawing shared across all of The Box’s social media and publicity channels.
  • The Box accepts no responsibility for any work submitted, entrants submit their work at their own risk.
  • A panel from The Box, with invited experts, will judge the competition. The panel’s decision is final.
  • There will be one winning entry from each category.
  • Each winner will receive a £150 voucher to spend in The Box shop. The prize has no monetary value and cannot be exchanged or used elsewhere.
  • Winning entries, along with selected others, will be displayed at The Box in the summer of 2026.