Bank of England and Financial Times School Blog Competition

The Bank of England’s Bank Underground blog and the Financial Times are looking for the best blog on the future economy written by a school student.

Published on 27 February 2018

The competition has now closed. The winning post and runner up have been published on Bank Underground.

Bank Underground and the FT have often explored what the world economy may look like in 10, 20 or 50 years’ time. We have discussed the rise of robots, income inequality, the impact and risks of digital currency, the productivity puzzle and the changing demographic forces driven by aging populations.

Now we want to hear from you. We are looking for blogs up to 500 words in length with up to two relevant charts or infographics. You can write on any theme related to the future world economy but arguments should be grounded in data, trends or applied economic theory. Entries will be judged by Bank of England and Financial Times staff on originality, creativity, clarity, quality of writing and evidence of engagement with data or theory on your chosen subject. The winning blog(s) will be published on both the Bank Underground blog and on the FT online.

To enter please send your blog to education.programme@bankofengland.co.uk with the subject “Student blog competition”. Please also include your full name, age, school and the email address of a teacher. By entering, you agree to the terms and conditions below.

Entrants must be aged between 16 -19 and in full-time education at a school in the UK (including the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or a registered British school overseas). We will only accept one submission per person. If teachers are organising submissions they are asked to submit only the best five blogs from students; group entries of more than five may be disqualified. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer feedback on entries.

The FT schools programme offers free access to the FT for 16-19 year olds in education, their teachers and schools. Schools can register here. You may also want to see the UK economic dashboard and discussion points for ideas for the blog.

Privacy – What we do with your personal data

When you enter this competition, the Bank of England (‘we’ or the ‘Bank’) collects your personal details. For example, your name, age, school email address, school and the email address of your teacher. Details will only be kept for the duration of the competition and then deleted.

We collect this personal data to assess your eligibility for the competition (see terms and conditions below), to otherwise administer the competition and to publicise winning entries.

If you do not provide the information, we will unfortunately be unable to accept your submission.

We will share your submission and details with the Financial Times so that a panel of judges, from both the Bank and the Financial Times, can review your submission.

We only process your personal data in the United Kingdom. Safeguarding your personal data is important to us and we will protect it accordingly.

Your rights

You have various rights under data protection laws. For example, you can ask for access to your data, or for it to be amended or deleted. Find out more about this and the Bank’s approach to privacy or call us on +44 (0) 20 3461 4444.

Terms and Conditions
- Entrants warrant that their entries are not offensive, defamatory or otherwise unlawful, and do not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of a third party;
- Entrants consent to assign all rights, title and interest in and to their entries to the promoter and that the Bank of England and FT shall have all rights to copy, edit, publish and use entries, in whole or in part, in any way they see fit, including for publishing on the Bank Underground Blog and, at the FT's sole discretion, on ft.com, without compensation to the entrants. Rights to edit copy where the publishers deem necessary is reserved although entrants will be fully credited.
- The judging panel's decisions are final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into;
- No responsibility for late, incomplete, corrupt or lost entries will be accepted;
- Bank of England may, at its absolute discretion, cancel, suspend, or vary the competition;
- Exclusion of liability: FT and Bank of England are not responsible for (i) any incorrect or inaccurate information used in connection with the competition; or (ii) failures or errors which may occur in the administration of the competition. To the fullest extent permitted by law, FT and Bank of England exclude liability and entrants agree to release and hold harmless Bank of England and FT for any damage, loss, liability or injury to person or property or for any claim arising as a result of your entry into the competition;
- By entering the competition, entrants agree to these terms and conditions. Failure to comply with these terms and conditions may result in disqualification;
- These terms and conditions and the competition will be governed by English law and any disputes arising shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
- The promoter is the Bank of England, of Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH