IMAGINE AWARDS 2026- COMMUNITY SECONDARY

Imagine Awards 2026

Thank you for your interest in Thornton Education Trust's (TET) Imagine Awards.

If you've ever brought architecture or the built environment into your classroom — asked your pupils to look closely at a local street, redesigned the school playground on paper, mapped what they'd change about their neighbourhood, or worked with a visiting architect — this award is for you.

The Imagine Awards celebrate the work secondary teachers do to help young people think about the world they live in. What matters is that your pupils had the chance to engage with the places around them, and that you can say what it meant to them.

Category:

This form is for submissions to the Place & Community Category only.

Celebrating projects that encourage young people to critically explore identity, citizenship and the social, cultural and political dimensions of place through creative and participatory learning.

You may enter as an individual teacher, department, team or school — whether your work was a one-off project or something you return to year on year.

If you wish to enter another category, please use the separate submission form, available on the website.

The Christina Smith Award

The Christina Smith Award is a special award recognising projects that thoughtfully connect heritage, place and contemporary design, helping children and young people explore how the past can inform the future of our built environment.

If your project includes learning about local heritage, historic buildings, conservation, cultural identity, regeneration or the evolution of places over time, you may wish to be considered for this award. Later in the application form, you will have the opportunity to indicate your interest, and the judges will determine eligibility as part of the assessment process. No additional application is required.

A few things to know before you begin:

Entry is free for all schools.
Please save your form as you go — the save option is available at the end of the form
If you have questions before submitting, our FAQs are available on the website.
Submission deadline: Friday 23rd October 2026
Judging will take place shortly after the deadline, and shortlisted entries will be notified
If you have any questions, please see our FAQs on the website or Contact imagineawards@thorntoneducationtrust.org

Your submission:

Don't worry if you can't answer every question fully — entries are judged on the quality and character of your work, not on how completely you fill in each field. When you're ready, scroll down to begin.

Place & Community

Full Name (application contact)

First NameLast Name

School

Job Title

E-mail

Address

Street Address Line 2

City

Country

Phone Number

Area CodePhone Number

Please state whether you would like further details

Who led or delivered the project (Name, role and organisation if different from applicant)

Position

email

Activity Title

How many students?

Which year groups were involved?

Which subjects or areas of learning did the project connect to? Select all that apply

Short Project/Activity Summary

This summary may be used in award communications should your project be shortlisted.

Brief description of the activity (including when took place, length of activity, one off or repeated activity)

What was the project and what were you hoping to achieve? Tell us what inspired the project, what issue, question or opportunity it responded to, and what you hoped students would gain from taking part.

How did the project develop? Describe the activities involved, how students participated, and any curriculum links, partnerships, visits, specialist input or community involvement.

What did students create, discover or achieve? Tell us about any outcomes, work produced, ideas generated, actions taken or changes that resulted from the project.

What was distinctive about your approach? We're interested in what made the project meaningful in your particular context, with your students and your school community.

What challenges, surprises or learning points emerged? Please reflect honestly on what worked well, what didn't go as planned, and what you learned along the way.

What difference did the project make to students? Tell us about any changes in knowledge, skills, confidence, attitudes, aspirations or understanding that you observed.

How do you know? This might include student voice, observations, evaluation, assessment evidence, feedback, or examples of work.

What impact has the project had on you, your colleagues or your school? Tell us whether it has influenced future teaching, curriculum planning, partnerships or wider school practice.

Share a quote, a comment or a moment that captures what the activity meant to them. This doesn't need to be something formally collected; something said in passing or written in a book is just as welcome.

Would you like this application to be considered for the Christina Smith Award?? (www.thorntoneducationtrust.org/imagine-christina-smith-award)

YES /NO

Anything else you wish to add to your application?

Supporting research and resources to share with other teachers:

Upload a File

Please upload any lesson plans, resources or guidance that you would be happy for us to share with other teachers through our learning network.

Application supporting materials:

Upload a File

You may upload up to six pages of supporting material, including photographs, student work, evaluation summaries, press coverage, testimonials or other evidence that helps tell the story of your project.

Key Image

Upload a File

Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, PDF. Max file size: 2MB. Images may be used for press and social media.

Name to print on the Award Certificate

Please be clear and include the teacher, job title, school name

I hereby agree that the information provided on this entry is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

1. Category - Place & Community

2. About you

3. Proposed Research Participation

4. About the project/activity

5. Tell us about your activity

6. Impact and Reflection

7. Quote

8. The Christina Smith Award

9. Upload photos, resources etc

10. Award Details