British Council Poetry Competition for School Pupils 2026
By taking part in our poetry competition, you have the chance to win tickets for the poesiefestival berlin 2026, secure a place in a poetry workshop at Haus für Poesie and take part in an exclusive poetry workshop with your class!
The British Council and Haus für Poesie are collaborating to host the seventh poetry competition for students in Grades 6-12 in Germany. Participants can showcase their creative writing skills in English or German while engaging with contemporary English-language poetry. This year's theme is 'Repair'. The judging panel includes award-winning poet Bohdan Piasecki and the Head of Poetic Education at Berlin's Haus für Poesie, Karla Montasser.
The task
Pupils should write a poem in English or German that refers to and responds to the work 'Again, Again' by Bohdan Piasecki and reflects on the theme of 'Repair'. 'Again, Again' can be viewed on YouTube, performed by the author, here and downloaded as a PDF below.
Poems must be submitted as text and may also be submitted as a video if desired.
Submitted poems should:
Be written in English or German
Not exceed 50 lines
Eligibility and rules
You must be a pupil at a school in Germany
You must be in Grades 6-12 at the time of writing your poem
To apply
Email your poem to mitmachen@haus-fuer-poesie.org with the subject line: "British Council Poetry Competition 2026". In your email, please include your name, age, address, gender (m/f/d), the name of your school, your class and your English teacher's name and email address.
Closing date for entries: Sunday 3rd May 2026, 6 p.m.
Announcement of the winners: Friday 15th May 2026
If you have any questions about eligibility, please send an email to Karla Montasser (mitmachen@haus-fuer-poesie.org) or call +49 (0) 30 4852 4536.
Detailed info and documents can be found here: