How to apply

Applying for the World's Best School Prizes offers schools a chance to reflect on and celebrate their achievements and innovations. By applying, schools will engage in a valuable self-assessment process, using our criteria to benchmark and enhance their work. They will also gain global recognition, join a worldwide community, inspire others, and strengthen their own school culture.

Who is eligible to apply?

  • Any school level: kindergarten, primary or/and secondary schools
  • All schools who teach students in compulsory schooling, and are legally registered with their respective Ministry of Education or government regulatory authority.

Please note that if you teach early childhood education, we’ll only assess it if it’s within the scope of compulsory education in your country. Otherwise, it’s not eligible.

  • Any school modality: Traditional/brick-and-mortar, online/virtual/fully remote learning and/or hybrid/blended
  • Schools that are not prohibited from participating in the Contest under the applicable law of their country.

General requirements

Applications can only be submitted by teachers and principals currently working at the school they are entering into the Prizes. Applicants must be aged 18 or over and have the authorisation and permission of the school’s authorities and/or governing body to enter the contest.

Applications can be submitted in any language and are free of charge.

Applications for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025 are now closed.

If you’d like to keep yourself updated about the opening of the next cycle of applications, Prize initiatives and other ongoing activities at T4 Education, please register below.

Timeline - Annual cycle

Here's a timeline of the process of the World's Best School Prizes:

October 2024

Launch of applications for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025

March 2025

5th: Applications close

12th: Deadline extension

June 2025

Public announcement of Top 10 Shortlisted schools for each Prize & Public Vote

October 2025

Winning Ceremony & launch of applications for World’s Best School Prizes 2026

PRESENT

Read the Terms and Conditions of the World's Best School Prizes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about the application process, eligibility, and more.

As a school, to enter the contest, you need to submit an application form to participate in the competition which has to be filled by your school’s staff. You can also receive an email with a dedicated invitation to apply by someone else, via the Invite a School to Apply form, but the invitation is not enough, you will need to submit your application form to run for the Prizes.

Application forms are submitted online at:
https://applications.worldsbestschool.org/

Yes, a school can apply for more than one Prize category, but please note that you will need to apply for each Prize separately, completing different forms. Please do not submit more than one form for the same category.

All schools that teach students in compulsory schooling and are legally registered with their respective Ministry of Education or government regulatory authority are eligible to apply – kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, operating in any modality approved by their authority: traditional, online or blended, and any type of school: state schools, private/independent, etc, as long as they are legally registered as education institutions in their country.

Only teachers, school principals, or other members of the applicant school’s leadership team or of its governing body can complete the application form. We will not consider applications submitted by any figure other than the ones described above, from the leadership team.

No, you need to apply as an individual school.

Yes, you need permission and consent from your school authorities to apply for the World’s Best School Prizes. By applying to the World’s Best School Prizes, you take full legal responsibility for ensuring the necessary permissions have been sought and granted in advance.

No, there are no costs to apply to enter the contest

No, we use the same application form for all five categories. All you need to do is select the Prize category you are applying for when you start completing the form.

Unfortunately not. We will publicly announce the schools that are on the shortlists. We can not give individual feedback due to the high volume of applications.

Yes, you can write and submit the answers in your language. On the application form, you will need to inform us which language you’re typing your responses in.

Yes, we accept applications written in your native language. However, you need to know that all our communications with contestants will be in English. If you don’t speak English, we recommend you involve an English speaker to support you through the process, particularly if your school gets shortlisted.

Yes, you can save as draft and submit or edit it later by logging back into the applications’ dedicated site.

Applications close on March 5th at 23:59 GMT. Deadline extension: March 12th, at 23:59 GMT.

No, entries will not be returned.

There will be one winner per Prize and each Prize winner will receive a fully paid subscription to our Best School to Work programme. The five winners will be selected by our Judging Academy based on the judging criteria for each Prize. Learn more about the prize on our Terms and Conditions.

Want to be the first to hear about our prizes and how to apply? Join the T4 Community and you’ll get all the info you need alongside a wealth of resources and professional development opportunities.

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