Rules of entry

The Royal Anniversary Trust manage a rigorous, independent assessment of review for all entries to the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education and makes recommendations on Prize-winning entries first to the Prime Minister and then to the Monarch. Recommendations for the award of Prizes will be made for applications that, in the view of the Royal Anniversary Trust, best demonstrate their success and suitability against the published Prizes criteria. The assessment process is confidential, and the decision of the Trust as regards recommendations for Prizes is final. 

Only one entry per institution may be submitted. 

Entries to the Prizes must be endorsed and signed off by the head of the institution. 

Prizes are awarded for group endeavours, not the work of individuals. 

If an entry is about work undertaken in a consortium or partnership, or in association with another educational institution, the institution submitting the entry should be the lead institution and will be the sole named winner, in the event of the award of a Prize. 

A Prize may be awarded for work previously entered that did not win a Prize, where clear evidence is given of its development. 

Confidential feedback on entries that did not win a Prize will be provided to institutions on request. This feedback will be delivered verbally only and will be part of a rounded, and it is hoped, helpful conversation with the institution. 

Prize-winning universities and colleges will be expected to attend the formal honours ceremony (expected to be held at a Royal Palace in February 2026) and the Prize-winners Dinner (customarily held at the Guildhall in London by the Trust the evening before). 

Prize-winners will be expected to discuss with the Trust their plans to promote their award, and to observe guidelines on this promotion which will be provided by the Trust to all Prize-winners.  

Prize-winners will be expected to update the Trust, on request, on the progress and development of the work for which they have been awarded a Prize. 

Prize-winners will be expected to provide two suitable representatives from their institution to participate in a research project alongside other winning institutions.  Known as the ‘Royal Challenges’, these projects contribute to the development of initiatives for the benefit of the wider higher and further education sector and for the four nations of the UK in general. Examples of former Challenges are the 2024 Coronation Challenge and the 2022 Jubilee Challenge. Read the Jubilee Challenge report here: https://www.queensanniversaryprizes.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Accelerating-towards-Net-Zero.pdf  

Further information on these conditions of entry can be provided by the Trust on request. 

Eligible institutions are higher education and further education qualification awarding education providers in the UK subject to external validation and assurance by the relevant recognised body.  

For reference, the Trust refers to the following as quality assurance sources:  

• The Department for Education (including Office for Students registration)   

• The devolved administrations and where relevant, associated non-departmental public bodies (e.g. The Scottish Funding Council)   

Further guidance on eligibility can be provided by the Trust on request. The final decision on eligibility to enter the Prizes scheme remains at the discretion of The Royal Anniversary Trust.