Science in School Student Writing Contest 2026

The Science in School Student Writing Contest is connected to a publication with a distinctive European scientific identity. Science in School is a non-profit journal published and funded by EIROforum, the collaboration of eight major intergovernmental research organisations including CERN, EMBL, ESA and ESO, and it is hosted by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg. The journal’s purpose is to help teachers connect classroom science with current research and real-world applications. The writing contest extends that mission by asking students to communicate science for an audience rather than merely display what they know. For the 2026/2027 contest, students aged 14–19 are invited to write about sustainable and resilient tourism. They can submit an Understand article explaining a research project or technology, a Teach article built around a classroom activity, or an Inspire article about an educational or local initiative. The theme is broad, but the organisers specifically discourage general overviews. The strongest entries are expected to focus on one research project, intervention, technology or local solution and explain how it contributes to a larger sustainability problem. This is also a genuine publishing experience. Three winning articles will be edited and published in Science in School’s first issue of 2027, potentially reaching thousands of educators. Students may work individually or in teams of up to five, and teachers or mentors may support the process while students remain lead authors. The competition explicitly values source evaluation, accurate explanation, audience awareness, revision and responsible AI disclosure, which makes it closer to science communication than to a conventional school essay. We rate the Science in School Student Writing Contest at Advanced Level. The format is accessible and supportive, but the requirement to understand research, cite sources, communicate clearly and revise for publication creates a demanding multi-stage task. It is an excellent fit for students interested in science communication, biology, environmental science, engineering, journalism or any field where explaining technical ideas to non-specialists is part of the work.