The Languages and Cultures Essay Prize is an annual academic essay competition run by Trinity College, University of Cambridge, open to students in Year 12 or Lower 6th (the penultimate year of secondary school) worldwide. The 2026 rules set eligibility at the February question release and required one response to a published question. Students write an essay of up to 3,000 words that incorporates language studies and/or cultural artifacts such as literature, visual art, or cinema. The historical 2026 online deadline was July 31 at 12 noon UK time. The first prize is £600 and the second prize is £400, each split equally between the student and their school or college, with the school's portion issued as book tokens. The 2026 winners are now listed on the official page; the published prize rules included a September announcement and invitation to visit Trinity College Cambridge.
Deadline check (2026-11-04): The official prize page confirms the closed 2026 cycle, July 31 noon deadline, and cycle-specific school-results window. Those 2026 eligibility and timing conditions do not establish the next year’s rules. No 2027 application opening, submission deadline, or eligibility cutoff was found on the checked page.
Fee check (2026-11-04): The prior catalog’s free-entry claim could not be reverified from the checked official pages. It is retained only as unverified history; no numeric fee or next-cycle pricing is asserted.