VOICES – a creative writing competition for care-experienced children and young people
About the competition:
Voices is the only creative writing competition specifically for care-experienced children and young people and has been run by Coram Voice since 2016. It offers these young people a unique opportunity to share their creativity, celebrate their talents, and reflect on what care experience means to them. The theme for 2025 is ‘My Voice’, chosen to empower young people and place their voices at the heart of Coram Voice's 50th Anniversary celebrations.
Why get involved:
Voices provides an invaluable platform for young people to express themselves, build self-confidence, and have their voices heard on a national stage.
Evan Amery, the Voices 2024 Upper Secondary Winner, reflected on his experience of the Voices competition in the Big Issue. Read the full article here to hear about the lasting impact participation can have on the lives of care-experienced children and young people.
How the Resource Pack can help:
The Virtual Schools are in a unique position to support young people in discovering their voices and encouraging them to take part in this unique opportunity to share their creativity with the world.
This resource pack, developed by experienced workshop leaders, provides practical activities and ideas to help you facilitate this experience. These workshops are designed to inspire and help young people reflect on the theme ‘My Voice’ in a positive and creative way. The pack includes:
- A set of activities organised into a 1.5-hour session
- Guidelines for how to use the resource pack, including tips for running and adapting the session to the needs and interests of the young people you support
- A self-editing guide which can be shared with young people to help them develop their writing further outside the session
- Appendices, which will be available to download from our website soon.
You can use the pack flexibly depending on what works for you.
Key Dates and Submission Information:
- Deadline for Submissions: 23rd March 2025
- Eligibility and Submission Guidelines: Full details on how to submit, as well as further eligibility information, can be found on our website https://coramvoice.org.uk/get-involved/voices-writing-competition/. This includes our definition of care experience, the file formats we accept, and information about how the entries are judged.
We’re excited to see the wonderful stories and voices of the young people you work with and hope to see them shine in Voices 2025.
If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at voices@coramvoice.org.uk. Thank you for supporting care-experienced young people in making their voices heard!