1. BBC Student Critics – Selected Groups
a) Up to 600 16-18 year-olds participating in the enhanced BBC Student Critics will be selected to receive the following elements:
- A free copy of the 2026 BBC National Short Story Award (NSSA) anthology for each student.
- Access to an online BBC Student Critics panel event where questions can be put to a selection of judges and/or shortlisted writers.
- An opportunity to receive a visit from a shortlisted writer or judge for this year’s BBC National Short Story Award, or BBC Young Writers’ Award, which may be filmed.
- An opportunity for students to attend the National Short Story Award and Young Writers’ Award ceremony, in London, in September.
b) Selected groups may be asked to provide feedback on their experience of taking part in Student Critics through a range of media, to support development and promotion of the programme.
2. Eligibility
a) This opportunity is open to any group of 16-18-year-olds from a school, college, library or youth organisation in the UK. Engagement with younger pupils is at the discretion of the Lead Adult. By registering, the Lead Adult acknowledges that some shortlisted stories may contain adult themes and content.
b) To be eligible, the lead adult for the group must:
- Complete the relevant question in the ‘About your group’ section of the Student Critics registration form.
- Agree to work to the following timetable if selected:
- By Monday 7th September 2026 (at latest) - Lead adult of selected group notified by email
- By Monday 7th September 2026 - Lead adult confirms participation and expected group numbers
- Thursday 10th September - Groups tune in or host a listening party as the NSSA shortlist is announced on Radio 4’s Front Row at 7.15pm
- Monday 15th September – Lead adult receives anthologies and discussion guide
- Monday 14th September – Monday 28th September - Group works through the discussion guide and anthology; listens to the stories and writers interviews. Online workshops or talks with judges/writers to be scheduled during this time. (BBC reserves the right to alter the date of this visit).
- Tuesday 29th September - Groups tune in or host a listening party as the NSSA winner is announced on a short story edition of Radio 4’s Front Row at 7.15pm, live from BBC Broadcasting House. Selected groups attend ceremony live at Broadcasting House in London.
- Provide feedback to the BBC on the experience and its impact on the participants, by an appropriate method.
c) Additionally, the lead adult for the group may be asked to:
- Provide content and supporting material to the BBC, which may include photographs, film clips, reviews or interview responses (see section 5 for more details).
- Promote your group’s participation to the local community and to local media – press release template to be supplied.
3. Selection
a) The BBC aims to select a diverse mix of groups, which will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Geographical region
- Size of group
- Type of group (e.g. school, sixth-form college, library etc).
- Statement provided in the online registration form
b) The lead adult of selected groups will be contacted personally by email or by telephone. If you are not contacted by Tuesday 8th September, you can assume that your application has not been successful.
c) The selection decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
d) The selection will be fair and independent. The selection will be made by the BBC.
4. Responsibilities of the BBC and participants
a) We will:
- co-ordinate the wider BBC Student Critics project for the BBC
- host free Student Critics resources on the BBC Bitesize website to help young people discuss and critique the shortlisted stories, and engage with the short story form
- run an online BBC Student Critics event featuring a selection of this year’s judges/shortlistees
- handle your personal data in accordance with the BBC Student Critics privacy notice
- comply with the BBC’s Child Protection Policy and the BBC's Editorial Guidelines
- organise school visits and any filming.
b) The BBC reserves the right to cancel Student Critics at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
c) For the selected groups in the enhanced Student Critics programme, the BBC will:
- Provide a free copy of the 2026 BBC National Short Story Award anthology, for each member of the selected groups
- Provide copies of the BBC Student Critics logo and a press release template, for you to use in connection with BBC Student Critics
- Gather feedback from your group and other groups on BBC Student Critics
- Ensure that any visitors to your group’s setting (e.g. BBC staff or judges) are required to read the BBC’s Code of Conduct and agree to adhere to it. Visitors would be DBS checked as required.
d) If your group is selected, as lead adult, you will:
- Take responsibility for the age-appropriateness of the short story content towards the young people in your group. The BBC recommends that young people in your group are between 16 and 18 years old;
- Ensure that in the event of BBC staff visiting your group setting to film or record activity they are never left alone with young people. Young people must be supervised at all times by a member of your staff;
- Process any personal data collected from BBC staff in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018;
- Before commencing your BBC Student Critics activity, seek parental permission for each young person in your group to participate via our contributor release forms.
5. Copyright and terms of engagement
a) By putting a group forward to be selected, the lead adult hereby acknowledges and agrees on behalf of all contributors, that any creative content that they supply (including audio, photographic, video and written content) capturing their group’s experience, may be read out or reproduced in a BBC programme, that:
- may be broadcast (in whole or in part) (including repeats and trails) on the BBC's publicly funded services which includes its radio services and via the BBC's website and online services (including on the BBC’s iPlayer), as well as featured in a BBC podcast available for permanent download;
- may be made available on the websites, apps and social media channels of the BBC, and Cambridge University;
- may be used for promotional purposes around Student Critics and the National Short Story Award, in perpetuity.
b) The lead adult agrees on behalf of the group to contribute to publicity and promotional activities, including events, for Student Critics and hereby grant the BBC all necessary rights in their contribution for press/publicity activities for Student Critics and the BBC National Short Story Award for all media in perpetuity.
c) Lead adults will be deemed to have accepted these rules and have agreed to be bound to them by putting a group forward to be selected. The Award team may at its sole discretion disqualify a group from being selected, if it considers that the entrant has not complied with the terms and conditions contained herein.
d) These rules and the application submitted in accordance with them shall constitute a contract governed by the exclusive laws and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
