Essay Competition
2026 Entrepreneurship Essay Competition
We are delighted to introduce the fourth edition of our Entrepreneurship Essay Competition. The purpose of the competition is to encourage UK-based school students (in Years 11, 12, and 13 in England and Wales; S4, S5 and S6 in Scotland; Years 12, 13, and 14 in Northern Ireland) to pursue entrepreneurial aspirations and understand better how to launch an enterprise. We are particularly keen to foster this entrepreneurial spirit among students who might not traditionally consider entering the world of business and further hope this competition encourages more young people, who might not have previously thought about it, to apply to Oxbridge and higher education more generally.
The competition is organised and run by the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab) at King’s College, University of Cambridge. More details about the E-Lab can be found on our About Page.
Students should choose one of the four essay questions, below, exploring the importance of entrepreneurism and the challenges that people in business face. This essay should be written independently by the student but can include input from a teacher or mentor. UK-based students from all backgrounds and regardless of subjects studied are welcome to enter the competition.
A winner, and two runners up, will be selected by our panel of E-Lab Judges. The winners will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony, to be held in King’s College, Cambridge, in December 2026. The winner will receive a £1,500 cash prize, with two runners-up prizes of £750. There will also be a number of distinguished essay commendations for those that are shortlisted (a great addition to a CV!).
Essay Questions and Format
Students are invited to write a 1000-word response to one of the four questions below:
1 - How do personal experiences and social context shape entrepreneurial thinking?
Discuss how entrepreneurs’ backgrounds, values or lived experiences influence the problems they choose to solve and the businesses they build. In your answer, consider how context (such as community, education, or family background) might shape opportunity recognition. Provide examples.
2 - Can failure be a strength in entrepreneurship?
Discuss how setbacks, mistakes or unsuccessful ventures can contribute to long-term entrepreneurial success. Provide examples, focusing particularly on local, small-scale, or early-stage businesses.
3 - What responsibilities do entrepreneurs have beyond making profit?
Discuss how entrepreneurs balance profit with responsibilities such as ethical decision-making, sustainability, or social impact. In your answer, consider how these responsibilities influence business strategy and long-term success. Provide examples.
4 - How do constraints (such as limited money, time or resources) shape entrepreneurial creativity?
Discuss how entrepreneurs can turn constraints into opportunities. In your answer, you may consider examples from school, community, or business contexts. Provide examples.
Remember: entrepreneurship comes in all shapes and sizes. Successful entrepreneurs need not be billionaires, so don’t limit examples to just big business.
Essay requirements
Essays must:
- Be the student’s own work (you can seek input from a teacher or mentor).
- Be written in an essay-style format (see essay-writing advice below).
- Be written in British English.
- Be up to 1000 words long. Essays under 850 words may struggle to fully address the question.
- Be easy-to-read, logical and well-structured, and free of spelling or grammatical errors.
- Contain a bibliography at the end of the essay, which lists sources for any external references (e.g. facts and figures). This should list authors by surname, in alphabetical order (see example here). It will not count towards the word limit.
Referencing/footnotes
As well as your bibliography, you should cite sources for any facts and figures you provide in your essay, either in brackets or in footnotes. These references should be included in the final word count. We know that not all students will be familiar with referencing, so you might find the following page produced by the University helpful. Any standard system of referencing is acceptable, but if you are stuck on which to use, you might start with Harvard (as explained by the Cambridge economics faculty here).
Essay-writing advice
Style
Your submission should be structured as a business-style essay. This might not necessarily coincide with the way you are taught to write essays for exams! Make sure to read through your essay once it is finished, before submitting. Read the question you select carefully and answer it directly, don’t re-write the question or answer a different question of your choosing!
Focus
Don’t forget - this is an essay competition on entrepreneurship - make sure your essay shows you understand what an entrepreneur is, and does, and show that you can think like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs don’t just have to be successful millionaires but include a variety of different people striving to do better. One way to approach this essay is to interview a local business-person (whether it is a family member, friend, or someone you see in the community) and discuss them in your essay.
To emphasise: this is not an economics essay. Whilst economic concepts might be relevant, we want to see a demonstration of business and entrepreneurial ideas rather than A-Level economics knowledge. Don’t forget to include examples, where relevant (outside the box examples are encouraged!), explain your arguments clearly, and don’t spend too long (if at all) defining concepts which would be understood by a general audience.
Length
1000 words isn’t a lot! Whilst it is a limit and not a target, it is quite difficult to make your argument in less than 850 words.
Examples
You can read an overview of 2025’s competition from our Senior Associate Rhys Williams with advice on what the judges look for and on how to succeed, here. Last year’s winning essays are also available to read here, here, and here.
What are the judges looking for?
- CLARITY – clear and easy-to-read work
- STRUCTURE – essays which are logical, easy to follow and have a natural flow
- ARGUMENTATION – move beyond explanation to think not just about WHAT or HOW, but WHY
- EXAMPLES –carefully chosen and helpful examples to demonstrate your points
- ORIGINALITY –innovative ideas and interesting case studies which move beyond the obvious
Use of AI
Students may use spell-checkers, grammar-checking software and standard research tools, but not generative AI (ChatGPT etc) that produces content or ideas for the essay.
Plagiarism and AI-usage checks will be carried out and any violating essay will be disqualified. More details on the University’s plagiarism rules can be found here.
Eligibility
Any student studying at a school or college in the United Kingdom who is in the academic years 11, 12, 13 or equivalent (S4, S5, S6 in Scotland; Year 12, 13, 14 in Northern Ireland) is eligible to enter the competition. There are no requirements on subjects studied.
Please note that we do not require teachers to verify submissions, unless contacted in cases of suspected breach of eligibility. Students can only submit one essay each.
Timeline
2 April 2026 - Competition Opens
5 August 2026 (9pm)- Deadline for submission of essays (we are unable to consider essays submitted after the deadline)
October 2026 - Winners announced
December 2026 - Prize-giving Ceremony at King’s College, Cambridge
Submissions
Your essay should not contain any personally identifiable information. Please enter personal details in the submission form (link below) and not in the essay itself. These personal details will not be shared with those marking the essays.
Please ensure you have obtained permission from a teacher at your school to submit this essay. In the submission form you will need to provide an official (school) email address that your teacher is reachable on, in case of suspected ineligibility concerns. Once an essay has been submitted, it is not possible to edit or resubmit.
The competition is free to enter. Please submit the essay as a PDF or word document (ensuring that the word count is met). The file name should be in the following style: firstnamesurnamequestionnumber (ie JohnSmith3).
Any queries about the Essay Competition should be directed to Lucy Rogers (lucy.rogers@kings.cam.ac.uk).
Essays should be submitted using the form here.
The data notice and terms and conditions can be found here.
Your Data
Any personal data which may be submitted in an entry will be processed by King’s E-Lab, including members of King’s College, in accordance with any applicable data protection legislation, and the Privacy Notice available here. By submitting your essay and entering the competition you acknowledge that you have read and agree to these terms. For further information contact the College’s Data Protection Lead at foi@kings.cam.ac.uk or write to the Data Protection Lead, King’s College, Cambridge CB2 1ST. Any queries on the Essay Competition should be directed to Lucy Rogers, lucy.rogers@kings.cam.ac.uk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I answer more than one of the four questions for the Essay Competition?
No, only one submission per person is allowed and this should only answer one of the four questions provided.
Can I make any changes once I have submitted my essay using the above form?
Please note that once you have submitted your entry it is not possible to make any changes – please ensure you are happy with your work before pressing ‘submit’.
Will I receive feedback on my essay?
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions, it is not possible to provide feedback on individual essays. Please read our Essay Advice above for general tips on how to do well in this competition!
I study outside of the UK, can I still enter?
Unfortunately, this competition is exclusively for students studying/living in the United Kingdom.
I am home-schooled in the UK, can I still enter?
Yes, absolutely (if you meet our other eligibility criteria)! In the submission form please inform us of this / get in touch with Lucy (lucy.rogers@kings.cam.ac.uk) if you have any questions.
I have a question that isn’t answered on this page - who do I contact?
Please drop an email to Lucy Rogers at lucy.rogers@kings.cam.ac.uk.
