Mother Tongue Other Tongue Poetry Competition
We are proud and very excited to run Mother Tongue Other Tongue, a multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in schools across the UK.
The aim of the Mother Tongue Other Tongue competition is to celebrate languages, culture and language-learning, giving primary and secondary school students the opportunity to practise and improve their foreign language skills (any language they are learning in school) and/or appreciate and celebrate their heritage, using poetry. The regional competition is being led by Routes into Languages West Midlands at University of Warwick.
The competition:
Mother Tongue entries will be in two parts: The first part is the poem. This can be an original piece written by the student, a creative piece, or a poem or song that is ‘remembered’ – i.e. something in your first language that you recall, or that has been told to you by a relative. This can be in any language but English. The second part should be a short explanation of the inspiration behind the piece, where it comes from, or why it is important to the person submitting it and must include a translation if it is an original piece written by the student (no more than half a page). This part must be written in English and is the part your entry will be judged on.
Other Tongue entries must be an original poem written in a language that is not the first language spoken by the person writing it. Entries are welcomed in French, Spanish, German, Italian or Mandarin.
Our theme for 2026 is nature and the environment, all entries must relate to this theme.
The competition is open to all students in KS2, KS3, KS4 & KS5
There will be one Winner from each category in each of the four key stages. Each of those winners will receive a Winner Certificate and an online shopping voucher. We will look at options to display the entries in a public/community place over the summer holidays
Last year's winners Link opens in a new windowin our Warwick competition
There is additional information and resources to support and inspire pupils below:
Writing a poem in French-ideasLink opens in a new window
Writing a poem in Spanish- ideasLink opens in a new window
How to enter
- Digital entries should be submitted by uploading a zip file for each Key Stage with PDF documents to the submissions tab below completing required details
- Any handwritten entries should be sent via post to Schools Outreach Team, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, 4th Floor, Faculty of Arts, University of Warwick CV4 7AL.
- Entries must be sent from the teacher (entries sent from pupils will not be accepted).
- Ensure that each PDF file includes the student's full name and year group.
DEADLINE! We will accept entries until 8 June 2026
Any questions, please email routeswm@warwick.ac.uk