Posted: 10 Nov 2026

Navigating El Niño: Our International Student Competition Is Open!

As world leaders gather in Antalya, Turkey, for the UN’s COP31 climate conference, we’re asking young people around the world one big question: how do you want world leaders to respond to our new extreme weather world?

Our 2027 International Student Competition, Navigating El Niño, is open now to students aged 7 to 18 anywhere in the world. And we’re delighted to announce that the University of Reading is our exclusive Higher Education Sponsor for the next two years.

Why El Niño?

El Niño is a natural climate pattern, but as the climate warms its impacts are becoming more severe. Floods, droughts and failed harvests are being felt by communities on every continent.

Enter in any way you like

Students can share their views in whatever format suits them best: an essay, artwork, music, a poem, a video and more. There are two age categories:

• Primary (ages 7–11)
• Secondary (ages 12–18)

Prizes

• Grand Prize: £1,000 and a trophy
• Runner-Up: £500 and a trophy
• Cash prizes for schools when an entry is submitted through a school’s Teacher Champion
• Personalised certificates for all Teacher Champions, finalists, honourable mentions and debate participants

Top-performing students from each country will also be invited to take part in our International Student Debates on 1 and 2 July 2027.

A global competition, now in its 17th year

Since we launched the competition in 2011, we’ve received over 17,000 entries from more than 120 countries, on themes from biodiversity and sustainable cities to climate justice and eco-anxiety.

“Every year we’re struck by how much young people have to say about the world they’re inheriting – they just need a platform to say it,” says Karl Hansen, Director of the Trust for Sustainable Living.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, says: “Understanding how our climate is changing is only half the challenge; the other half is how we choose to respond. Young people will live longest with the decisions being made today, and this competition gives them a platform to tell world leaders what they expect of them.”

Professor Andrew Charlton-Perez OBE of the University of Reading adds: “Every young person deserves a climate education that helps them understand these changes and gives them the confidence to ask what should be done about them. I can’t wait to see students turn the science into ideas for action.”

How to enter

Entries are open now and close at 23:59 UTC on 1 March 2027. Teachers can register their school via our competition platform: https://trustforsustainableliving.submittable.com/submit

Find out more at www.trustforsustainableliving.org