Spirited Arts Competition 2025

Choose your theme

1. Living in a diverse world

Strong communities cope well with diversity. RE can make a good contribution to communities by teaching pupils about the wisdom of religious and non-religious worldviews on human equality and by challenging negative attitudes. We are all different, and all religions are different – but are we all the same too? What holds our communities together? Is it faith? Hope? Love? Music? Sport? What threatens to tear us apart – racism, hatred, bigotry? How can we conquer the forces of division? Teachers and pupils might focus on their local community, look at a national perspective or even consider a global community.

Winning work will…

• Refer to specific ideas and quotes from religious and non-religious worldviews.
• Make a work of art that shows what living in community means.
• Think carefully about how racism and other negative attitudes can be reduced and conquered for a better human race.

2. Stories that change lives

The power of religion is often shared in stories: Think of stories of the Buddha, Krishna or Gandhi, Jesus’ parables, stories of Jacob or Moses, Guru Nanak or the Prophets of Islam (don’t picture them!). This theme asks you to choose one story from religion – ancient or modern – and show in your artwork how it can make a difference to a person’s life today. Here are some examples: the story of poor suffering Job, or of the Four Sights of Siddhartha in Buddhism, and think deeply to create a brilliant image of the story and its power. Can you use a non-religious story? Yes - if it has power to change lives! Good entries may link ancient and modern, or perhaps draw upon more recent stories for inspiration. Younger pupils may love this theme. It could be a chance to do class project work, grand scale group entries, based on a shared story. Senior students may tackle a less well-known example, bringing out true meanings in the art.

Winning work will…

• Refer to a specific story or more than one story and show understanding of the power of a story or stories to change people’s lives.
• Demonstrate deep and original thinking about the meaning(s) of the story, linking the content of the story with ideas and beliefs – a simple storyboard or illustration of a frame from a story isn’t going to be a winner!
• Link stories with people’s lives, with creativity and imagination.

3. Thinking about God?

How do people envisage God? Why do visions of God differ around the world? Atheist, agnostics and theistic pupils can all respond to this theme. Express your ideas about God with some original creativity. Where is God? Who is God? The great creator? Prayer answerer? He or she? Above us all or in every human heart? Or is she hiding? Is he not there at all? Unreal? Imaginary? If you wanted to find out who God is where would you search? Google or a ‘god-detector’? Is God on Instagram, TikTok or WhatsApp? Can we know God by praying and worshipping, or serving people in need? What do you think about when you think of the word ‘God’?

Note: The ‘where is God?’ theme from previous years fits well here.

Winning work will…

• Show deep thought and consideration, and present ideas with creative flair and imagination.
• Demonstrate understanding of some key ideas about God/the divine… older pupils might include theological reflection as well as philosophical argument to make great artwork.
• Make good use of religious and / or non-religious ideas and concepts of God (or lack thereof!)

4. Sacred Places

Mosque and Mandir, Church and Chapel, Gurdwara and Synagogue, a special place at home or outside in nature: spaces for wonder and awe, for ritual and symbol, for believers and visitors. This theme could be a space for photography, collage, group work or reflections on class trips to places of worship. But then some people’s sacred space is on the beach, in the mountains, by the riverside. And for others, it is in the city, among the people who carry heavy loads, even in war-torn space – can God be found there? This theme will be popular with primary class groups who have been on a trip, but 14-19s with a sacred space of their own can win too.

Winning work will…

• Demonstrate why the chosen space is sacred – either to themselves, or the community it serves.
• Where applicable, draw on key texts from RE lessons in their explanations.
• Show creative and thoughtful reflection about what makes a space (or spaces) sacred.

5. All God's Creatures?

Do animals belong to God? Are they part of a divine plan? Do animals have souls? The beauty and sheer awesomeness of non-human animals with whom we share planet Earth is celebrated in many of the world’s religions. Respect for the worth of all animals is at the hearts of some non-religious worldviews too, like Ethical Veganism. Some worldviews see all living beings as interconnected, yet others emphasise the separateness and superiority of humans over other animals. Animals play a huge part in all our lives, whether we realise or not. How humans interact with other animals and the natural world impacts on all living beings and the planet. This theme invites exploration of ideas and beliefs about non-human animals. Challenge learners to engage thoughtfully with scripture, philosophy, and scientific enquiry to write an inspiring passage to accompany stunning images.

Note: The ‘Why do animals matter?’ theme from last year fits well here.

Winning work will…

• Show originality and flare coming from deep consideration of the issues.
• Reference specific religious or non-religious worldviews, perhaps referring to specific texts, stories or traditions.
• Go beyond simply picturing animals – beautiful though they are – and engage show thought and reflection on the issues relating to animals, and human attitudes and actions towards them.

Generously sponsored by Veganism in Education (VinE) and the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA). The RE Today suite of resources on Ethical Veganism which span all age groups will support engagement with this theme.

6. Making sense of life

Religious and non-religious worldviews offer answers to fundamental questions raised by human experience. What is the nature of ultimate reality? What is truly real – material stuff, love, spiritual forces, the divine? Can we know anything at all? What is the purpose of living – pleasure, service, procreation, growth, creativity, submission to God? What is our destiny? How do we decide how to live? Create a piece that reflects some of the big questions raised by being human, and the answers your worldview offers – or a selection of worldview responses to compare. The best work will balance theological and philosophical thinking with creative expression.

Winning work will…

• Show deep reflection and consideration around at least one big question that helps us to make sense of life.
• Make reference to specific ideas from religions and worldviews.
• Demonstrate creative flair and originality that comes from thinking hard about the theme.

All themes are suited to both primary and secondary pupils: teachers are advised to share them with RE classes in age-appropriate ways and ensure pupils can respond at their own level, whether they are 4 or 14, 8 or 18.

Download the list of themes and full competition details

Who can enter?

We happily accept entries from students of all abilities and from various school types, spanning ages 3 to 19. Each school can submit up to 10 entries, so it's essential to select your top 10.

Entry Types

Students have flexibility in creating their entries:

• Entries can be individual, in pairs, or group efforts.
• It's also possible for entire classes, year groups, or even the entire school to collaborate on entries.
• In previous years, we've been delighted to receive entries from entire community groups.

Prizes & judging

The judging process, conducted by RE Today Advisers and students, occurs in August, and we announce the winners in the new academic year.

Prizes:

• We intend to award 5 prizes for each theme, totalling 25 prizes. However, we may grant more prizes for specific themes if we receive exceptional entries.
• Entries are categorised by Key Stages for judging, to have at least one winner for each Key Stage when possible.

Prize Categories:

• Individual pupil winners: £20 Amazon voucher.
• Paired winners: Each winner receives a £10 Amazon voucher.
• Group/Class/Year/School winners: Prizes are determined on a case-by-case basis but typically range from £50 to £100 in the form of a voucher or school check for selecting appropriate prizes.
• Please note: we cannot guarantee that international winners will receive a monetary prize, due to increasing restrictions on international spending and from online retailers such as Amazon.

Additional Prizes:

• Exceptional work from 14-19 students may win up to £100.
• Sometimes, we can make slightly larger awards for class or group entries.

School Prizes:

• Schools with winning entries receive prizes as well. Typically, this includes a voucher to spend with RE Today, NATRE, or a copy of a best-selling publication from RE Today.

How to enter

There are various ways to organise the competition within your school. You should select your top 10 entries in the whole school to submit.

• You can opt for a single theme for your students to work on or let them choose from any of the 6 themes.
• Your 10 entries do not all have to be from the same theme.

Type of entries accepted

What should each entry include?

Each entry should consist of a piece of art, which can be physical, literary, or created using technology. We welcome almost all artistic mediums. Additionally, there should be a corresponding write-up, limited to 400 words. This write-up should connect to the theme, highlight your students' outstanding work, and provide meaningful commentary. The quality of these commentaries plays a significant role in the judging process.

How do I submit entries?

All entries must be registered through our online submission form. This process helps us gather the necessary school and student information, ensuring a smooth competition and allowing us to send out prizes and certificates.

What if the art piece is larger than A3 or a sculpture?

For larger pieces, such as those exceeding A3 size or sculptures, please provide us with high-quality photographs of the work. Unfortunately, we can't accommodate large physical entries at our office.

How can I submit musical, dance, and drama entries?

Musical, dance, and drama entries can be submitted via email. Alternatively, you can send them on a USB or CD.

Sending your entries

How to Send Your Entries

Once you complete the online submission form, you can print an address label with your unique reference.

Mailing Address:

Spirited Arts

National Association of Teachers of RE
Suite 5-6
1 Devon Way
Birmingham
B31 2TS

Please include your reference number on the envelope and on all pieces of artwork and their accompanying commentaries.

Attach write-ups to the corresponding artwork by stapling or glueing them to the back. This helps us match them up more efficiently.

Each work MUST be labelled with the pupil's name, age, theme, and school details.

Email Submissions:

For digital entries like videos or music, you can send them digitally to competition@natre.org.uk. To help us manage the submissions effectively, please ensure that all file names include the pupil's name, age, and the theme they're entering, like this:

Example: John Smith – age 7 – Where is God

Given the large volume of entries, using these specific details in file names is very helpful.

For more details and an entry checklist, you can download the full competition details

Ideas for running the competition in your school

• Many schools build the competition into a scheme/unit of work, allowing time to develop knowledge and ideas around a theme before completing the unit by creating their own entries.
• Other schools have run a RE week or day in their school that concludes with creating work for the competition.
• The competition can be used as a fun end-of-term activity or homework project.
• Use the competition as a great way to raise the profile of RE in your school! Make displays of your pupil’s work, and consider asking other members of the teaching staff, SLT or your head teacher to help do the preliminary judging when choosing your best 10 entries to send in.
• Some schools run exhibitions of all their pupil's work and open them to parents and the wider community. Some even have attendees select the best 10 entries.