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Fourth Plinth Schools Awards 2026

How to apply

About the Awards

Fourth Plinth School Awards Competition is now open for entries.

The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards 2026 competition is a chance for schools to get creative and produce a work of art inspired by the contemporary art commissions for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth.

 Here’s how to get involved:

  • get your students to design an artwork inspired by the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square
  • scan or take a photo of your students’ artwork and submit it to the online gallery
  • that’s it.

There are winner and runner-up prizes for different age categories: 5-7 years, 8-11 years and 12-15 years, as well as prizes for the best work from each borough. There’ll also be a presentation ceremony at new City Hall in the spring and the winner of each category will appear in an exhibition later in the year.

Entries can be in all art forms including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and digital designs. There’s no limit to the number of entries from each school and both group and individual entries are welcome.

The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards Gallery will be updated with entries throughout the 2026 competition

Need some inspiration?

Our teacher resource will soon be made available for new ideas and helpful materials.

You can also visit Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app to see all the 2025 winners, learn about past commissions and hear from the artist behind the current installation, Mil Veces Un Instante by Teresa Margolles.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] with any questions.

We are looking forward to seeing your students’ submissions online.

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