Judging criteria
Our entries will be judged by an international panel of sustainability experts and educationalists, who will select the winning entries in each category.
The judges are looking for originality and creativity in all formats – and the potential to contribute to constructive national or international debate. Unique perspectives often score highly.
Our judges will be scoring entries on:
- Understanding of the topic
- Originality, innovation and creativity
- Inspirational power
- Communication and presentation of idea (effective use of chosen medium)
Each student’s age is taken into account when judging, so that younger students are not at a disadvantage when compared with older students.
Key dates
-
7 September 2025
TSL 2026 Competition Launch – SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE – registration for Teacher Champions/Schools opens on the TSL Competition Platform, hosted by Submittable
-
8 March 2026 (midnight UTC)
Final deadline for entries via the TSL Competition Platform (extended by a week due to the high volume of submissions)
-
1 May 2026
Announcement of International Competition 2026 Finalist & Honourable Mention winners on the TSL website
-
22 May 2026
Finalists & Honourable Mention certificates available on TSL Certificates Portal
-
22 May 2026
“Top 10” Finalists in the Primary and Secondary age categories will be notified via their Teacher Champions (using their TSL Competition Platform registered email addresses)
-
End May 2026
Invitations to participate in the International Student Debates will be emailed to Teacher Champions (using their TSL Competition Platform registered emails)
-
1-2 July 2026
International Student Debates, followed by International Student Awards – Primary Schools age group (July 1) & Secondary Schools age group (July 2)