FAQs

Students aged 4-18 living and attending school in the UK can enter artworks.

Homeschooled students are welcome to submit too. Homeschooling parents, guardians and teachers will need to register as teachers and add the details of their homeschool by ticking the 'School not listed/homeschool' box on the registration page.

The Young Artists’ Summer Show is not open to students attending British International schools. Only students who live and study in the UK can apply.

To participate a teacher has to register the school first. Once the school is registered, a parent/guardian or teacher can create an account and submit artwork.

You can check if a school is registered by visiting our registered school checker page. Search for the school by name, postcode or address. If the school is listed, it is registered and you can submit. If it’s not listed, you’ll be able to download a leaflet to share with a teacher so they can register the school.

Prizes are awarded each year for inspiring artworks and are generally a gift voucher for art materials. You can also vote for your favourite artwork in our annual People’s Choice Award.

A school must be registered by a teacher before anyone from that school can submit.

Teachers must create an account and select their school from the list. Next, follow the instructions on the confirmation email to activate the account. Once the account is activated, the school is registered and artworks can be submitted. If you are a teacher and already have an account, logging in will re-register your school.

Yes, you can use the same login details if you’re still at the same school. Logging in will re-register your school and once your school is re-registered artwork made by students from your school can be submitted. If you have moved to a new school, please create a new account with your new school email.

A school must be registered by a teacher before anyone from that school can submit.

You can check if a school is registered by visiting our registered school checker page. Search for the school by name, postcode or address. If the school is listed, it is registered and you can submit. If it's not listed, you'll be able to download a leaflet to share with a teacher so they can register the school.

Submitting artwork is completely free and is done online. First, a teacher will need to register your school. Once the school is registered, your artwork can be submitted. A teacher or parent/guardian will need to enter on your behalf if you are a student. We only accept one artwork per student and will not accept late submissions under any circumstances.

We’ve written some guidance you can download on the kinds of artwork the judges are looking for when they review submissions and what artworks we can’t accept. Artworks can be made of any materials and might include painting, sculpture, photography, installation, print, textile, fashion, animation or a video.

There is no theme so artworks can be of any subject. We do not accept AI-generated works or artworks that closely or identically reproduce another artist’s work or ideas. Please avoid making art with known comic, book illustration or animated characters or submitting the same artwork again year on year. We also can’t accept submissions with content in the artwork or artist statement that may be harmful or otherwise unsuitable to display publicly in an exhibition for artists aged 4–18.

It is free to participate in the Young Artists’ Summer Show.

Submissions are done online only. Please do not send any artwork to the Royal Academy.

We don’t mind when you made the artwork as long as you are between 4-18 years old when you submit it. Please note that you can’t submit the same artwork again year on year.

We welcome collaborative artwork entries and there is no limit to the number of students involved. The artwork can be made by more than one student, a whole class, a whole year group or even a whole school! To submit this kind of artwork, choose a student to enter for the first step and on the artwork form use the ‘alias’ field to add the details of the artists involved.

We are aware that the exhibition dates clash with the examination period for GCSE, A Level and BTEC students. If you’re submitting for a student at GCSE, A Level or BTEC level, please do not submit artwork that is being assessed for exams. Any artworks that are selected for the display at the RA cannot be returned until the end of the exhibition.

To submit a video, you need to upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo and add the sharing URL link to the submission form. To use these sites you’ll be required to agree to their terms and conditions.

You must have permission to use any music in the video or we’ll be unable to exhibit it. Read more about copyright on the Artquest website.

You can edit or delete an artwork submission when you’re logged in to your account, where you’ll see an edit and delete option against each submission. If you want to delete an artwork after the submission deadline, please contact us.

As a teacher, you will need to obtain permission from the parent/guardian (for students 12 and under) or the student (for students 13 years old or older) to submit on behalf of each student. We’ve made a permission form for you to use, which you can access from your account in the 'My downloads' section, but they are for your school’s record only - we don’t need a copy. Please follow your school’s guidance on where to store these.

When you submit, we ask you to share an image of the artwork which can be a photograph taken with a phone, tablet, or digital camera; a screenshot of a video, or a scan. The image will be seen by the judges and be shown online if the artwork is selected for the exhibition, so it’s essential that you submit a good image that is an accurate representation of the artwork; this will give the artwork the best chance of being selected by the judges.
A few tips to get a good image:

- Make sure the whole artwork is in the photograph including all edges, plus any plinths or stands for sculpture
- Use a neutral background and soft, even, natural light. Avoid shadows on the artwork
- Photograph artwork unframed as the glass/plastic can cause glare and reflections
- Use a scanner for smaller artwork, pencil drawings and artwork on paper especially if the paper is crumpled or creased

Images must be JPEG or PNG format and no larger than 5MB.

All of the artworks are viewed and judged by a panel of artists and art professionals who decide which artworks will be shown online and which will also be shown onsite at the Royal Academy. There are two panels of judges, one to review primary student artworks and one to review secondary student artworks.

The RA recognises the resources gap between fee-paying and state schools and the impact this has on support for students’ creativity. We ask judges to be mindful of this when making their selections and encourage them to consider representing a fair balance of state and fee-paying students in the exhibition whilst also ensuring representation of work made by young artists across the breadth of the UK.

Everyone who submits artwork will hear the outcome of the judges’ selection by the end of May.

Everyone who submits artwork will hear the outcome of the judges’ selection by the end of May.

If the artwork is marked as 'Unsuccessful this time' it has not been selected for the exhibition. We receive a large number of applications each year and we love seeing each and every artwork that is submitted. Making the final selection is always incredibly difficult for the judges. We love seeing each and every artwork we receive and we hope you continue to submit in the future.

If the artwork is marked as ‘Accepted — online exhibition’, it will be displayed online on our website.

We’ll ask you to confirm the details you provided in the submission are correct because those details will be shown on our website.

We must have a good quality image of the artwork to show online and we may contact you if we need a better image.

If the artwork is marked as ‘Accepted — online exhibition and display at the RA’, it will be shown both online on our website and onsite at the Royal Academy.

We’ll email you to tell you more about showing an artwork onsite at the Royal Academy. We’ll ask you to frame the artwork if it’s a work on paper or another 2D medium, and you’ll have to deliver the artwork to us either by post, courier or in person. You’ll need to confirm the details provided in the submission are correct because these details will appear in our catalogue and on our website.

We must have a good quality image of the artwork to show online and in the catalogue. We may contact you if we need a better image.

If the artwork is chosen for display at the RA, we will contact you to provide further details about the next steps. Works selected to be shown at the RA must be framed if it’s a work on paper or another 2D medium. Please do not frame artwork with glass as it’s at very high risk of breaking. We will also share details of how to post, courier or deliver the artwork by hand to the Royal Academy.

You will be asked to come collect the artwork once the display has closed. We’ll have designated days for in-person collection and artists based far away from the Royal Academy will have their works couriered back to them. You must collect the artwork within one month of the exhibition closing otherwise it will be discarded.

All artworks in the online exhibition will be available to view in perpetuity. Artworks selected to be displayed at the RA are displayed for the duration of the exhibition which is one month.

Start by checking your junk mail. If it’s not there, request a new email. If this doesn’t work and you’re a teacher, please check with your school IT department as it may be a firewall issue. Otherwise, contact us.

Double check your files are 5MB or less and are one of the following formats: JPG or PNG. If you want to submit a file that is not a JPG or PNG, you can use a file converter website to change your file so it will upload.

The RA does not sell artworks from the Young Artists’ Summer Show and does not broker contact between prospective buyers and participating artists.

Download a copy of our logo. For press and media enquiries, please contact us.