This award is for an independent school in the North of the UK – from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the English ceremonial counties of: Cheshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire. You may be a large urban powerhouse or a small rural gem; academically selective or proudly broad in intake. What matters here is how you make the most of your northern roots.

We want to hear the story of your school in 2025–26, told with grit and pride. Celebrate your part of the country. Explain why pupils in your care benefit from something genuinely distinctive – an education shaped and strengthened by the character, heritage and opportunity of the North.

Use examples to make it real. Weave in evidence where it helps your case (but do avoid turning your entry into a spreadsheet). Above all, help our judges picture what they would see if they walked through your doors on a blustery Monday morning: the warmth, the ambition, the sense of purpose.

Resilience is very much the watchword of the moment in our sector, prompting a clear-eyed focus on the future amongst leadership teams up and down the country. So please weave an explanation of how your school is taking sensible, forward-thinking steps to shore up its long-term stability into your answers.

Please structure your entry around the following questions, keeping the spotlight firmly on how your school draws strength from its northern setting.

• Why is your school special in the North?
  In a region known for resilience, industry, cultural clout and no-nonsense spirit, what makes your school stand out? How do you capitalise on your location – through links with local universities and businesses, access to dramatic landscapes, sporting heritage, creative industries or strong community traditions? What were your defining successes in 2025–26 – in the classroom, on the stage, in laboratories or on the rugby pitch – that mark you out as the best in your region? (Around 200 words.) 
• How has your northern location enhanced pupil experience in 2025–26?
  How does being based in your part of the North allow you to meet your students’ needs in ways that feel distinctive and relevant? Perhaps it’s the entrepreneurial links in a thriving city, the outdoor education afforded by nearby hills and coastline, or a community ethos that keeps pupils grounded and ambitious in equal measure. Show us how your setting has translated into a richer, more rounded school life this year. (Around 150 words.) 
• What impact does your school – and its northern identity – have on pupils and the wider community?
  A great northern school should feel woven into the fabric of its area. How do your pupils contribute to local life, and how does that engagement shape them in return? Tell us how your regional identity informs the kind of young adults you send out into the world – resilient, articulate and community-minded. (Around 150 words.)