This award is for an independent school in the South of the UK – whether you’re perched on the Cornish coast, tucked into a Wiltshire market town or thriving in the London commuter belt. You may be large or small, selective or broad in intake. What matters here is how you make the most of your southern setting.

We’d like you to tell the story of your school in 2025–26 with confidence and colour. Share your pride in your patch – be that Avon, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, East or West Sussex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey or Wiltshire. Explain why the young people in your care enjoy something genuinely distinctive, an education sharpened and enriched by your location.

Bring it to life with examples. Weave in evidence where it strengthens your case (but do resist the urge to present it as a shopping list of statistics). Above all, help our judges picture what they would encounter if they stepped through your gates: the atmosphere, the ambition, the sense of place.

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 a clear focus on how your school draws strength from its southern roots.

• Why is your school special in the South?
  In a region blessed with coastline, countryside, historic cities and thriving industries, what sets your school apart? How do you capitalise on your location – through partnerships with local employers and universities, access to cultural and natural landmarks, or a way of life that blends aspiration with grounded confidence? What were your standout successes in 2025–26 – academically, on the stage, on the sports field or in pastoral care – that mark you out as the best in your region? (Around 200 words.) 
• How has your location enhanced pupil experience in 2025–26?
  How does being based in your corner of the South enable you to meet your students’ needs in ways others might not? Perhaps it’s the breadth of co-curricular opportunity, the entrepreneurial links, the outdoor education on your doorstep or the cultural capital within easy reach. Show us how your setting has translated into a richer, more expansive school life this year. (Around 150 words.) 
• What impact does your school – and its regional identity – have on pupils and the wider community?
  A great southern school should feel part of the fabric of its area. How do your pupils engage with their local community, and how does that sense of place shape their character and outlook? Tell us how your regional identity influences the kind of young adults you send out into the world – confident, capable and connected. (Around 150 words.)