• The essay must be written in English. 
• It must not have been published before or submitted to another competition. 
• It must be a maximum of 1000 words (not including the title). There is no minimum number of words, but your essay does not have to be this long. Any script over 1000 words will not be read by the judges. 
• Your submission must answer the essay question given. 
• Give your essay a title which will avoid confusion with the other entries. 
• Stories or other formats will not be considered. 
• No pictures and/or drawings are to be part of the entry 

• The essay must be clearly typed or copied and pasted into the field on the entry form. 
• The title must appear in the appropriate field on the submission form. 
• References can be submitted in the appropriate field on the submission form. 
• References are optional. Your essay will still be judged without references, but you may find them helpful.
• You must complete your personal details on the submission form, but your entry is anonymous to the judges. Your personal details will not be seen by the judges. 
• Your name, u3a, or any local identifiers MUST NOT appear in the body of your essay. 

• The competition is open to current members of any u3a, including Interest Groups Online. For the avoidance of doubt, any entrant must be a member on 1 June 2026 and remain a member until the competition winners are announced in October 2026. 
• Entry is free but limited to one essay per person. 
• Entries must be received by 12 noon on Friday 31 July 2026.  
• You must submit your entry via the online form on the u3a website, which will open on Friday 1 June and will close at 12 noon on Friday 31 July 2026. You can send an entry in as soon as it is ready, within this window only. 
• Please ensure you submit your entry in good time and preferably not on the last day. Please note that the Third Age Trust can make no allowances for any technical issues which prevent or delay submission such as internet problems, and you are encouraged to submit your entry in good time. 
• Third Age Trust staff will try to help wherever possible with technical issues but if the issue is with your online set-up we may be limited in what we can do. 
• We regret that postal entries cannot be accepted. 

• It is important that we protect the work of creative individuals. Whilst essays can be inspired by the work of others, there is without doubt a grey area where inspiration carries over to plagiarism or close copying.  
• For this competition plagiarism is where, to a reasonable person, the submitted entry appears remarkably similar in significant important respects to a body of work created elsewhere. All shortlisted essays will be passed through a testing process for plagiarism. If detected the entry will be disqualified. 
• Entrants must not use any apps or artificial intelligence tools to produce any part of the text of their submission. All shortlisted essays will be passed through a testing process for artificial intelligence. If detected the entry will be disqualified. 
• Artificial Intelligence may be used for research, but members should be careful to check information derived from AI sources for accuracy. 

The judges will be u3a members with appropriate skills appointed by the u3a Learning Team. 

Judging Criteria 

• Relevance to the theme
  How clearly the essay reflects the competition theme and explains why the chosen journey is extraordinary or memorable.
• Creativity and originality
  How imaginatively the writer approaches the chosen journey and how effectively the topic is brought to life for the reader.
• Interest and storytelling
  The ability of the essay to engage the reader and tell the story of the journey in a lively and compelling way.
• Insight and understanding
  Evidence that the writer has explored and understood the journey, its context, and why it is remarkable or significant.
• Clarity of writing
  Clear and enjoyable writing that communicates ideas effectively to a general reader.

 The Judging Process

• All the entries will be judged in randomised groups. The best entry in each group will be decided by a panel of judges and the shortlisted finalists will be notified.  
• Each of the finalists will then be judged against each other to identify an overall winner. 
• The winner will be announced in October 2026. 
• The overall winner and shortlisted entrants will have their essay published on the Third Age Trust website. 
• The writer of the first prize along with two runners up will receive prize books donated by HX Expeditions.

• Worldwide copyright for the essay will remain with the author but all entrants must give permission as the author of the submitted essay for the Third Age Trust and Third Age Trust Trading Ltd. to hold, process and display the work on their website, social media accounts and in other Trust media e.g. u3a matters magazine, in relation to this competition. You will always be credited by your first and surname alongside your essay, if chosen. 
• The Third Age Trust and Third Age Trust Trading Ltd. will have the right to edit & publish the submitted work on its website, social media accounts, in u3a matters and/or in an eBook. 
• The Third Age Trust may contact you only in relation to your essay and the competition and your data will not be used for any other purpose. 

The Judges’ decision is final in all matters. 

Judges and organisers will not enter into any discussion with any entrant about their entry. 

Any essays not conforming to the above rules and specifications will not be accepted. 

Back to u3a Learning Activities