Deadline: 25 July 2025
The King’s College Cambridge is delighted to invite submissions for the third edition of its 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.
They 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 think about it, to apply to Oxbridge and Higher Education.
Students should choose between one of the three essays questions, exploring the importance of entrepreneurism and the challenges that business-people face. This essay should be written independently by the student but with input from a teacher or mentor:
- What makes a great business idea? Discuss how entrepreneurs can identify and evaluate opportunities for a (potentially) successful venture. Provide examples.
- What are the biggest challenges faced by start-ups in their early stages, and how can entrepreneurs overcome them? Provide examples.
- How do entrepreneurs build a strong team, and why is this important for a start-up’s success? Provide examples.
Prize Information
- A winner, and two runners up, will be selected by their panel of E-Lab Judges. The winners will be invited to a prize-giving ceremony, to be held in King’s College, Cambridge, in November 2025. The winner will receive a £1,500 cash prize, with two runners-up prizes of £750.
Eligibility Criteria
- UK-based students from all backgrounds and regardless of subjects studied are welcome to enter the competition.
Application Requirements
- Students are requested to submit their writing in an essay style format written in British English. If footnotes are used, they will count towards the word limit. External references (e.g. facts and figures) should be sourced in a bibliography at the end of the article, which will not count towards the word limit.
- The submitted essay must be the student’s own work but the student is allowed to seek input from a teacher or mentor. Use of generative AI is forbidden (e.g. ChatGPT etc). Plagiarism and AI-usage checks will be carried out and any violating essay will be disqualified.
- Students can only submit one essay each.
For more information, visit King’s Entrepreneurship Lab.
