Children and classes around the UK are invited to write a short story and enter it into the BBC’s 500 Words writing competition. Winners will receive a large collection of books for themselves (and for their school library) and the site has lots of writing tips to help children create an amazing short story.

Teachers and librarians throughout the UK are also invited to volunteer their time to help whittle this year’s submissions down to a shortlist, which will then be judged by some a team of popular authors. Entry to the competition is open to persons aged 13 years and under on the 1st March 2012 who are living in the UK. Children can submit their story using this form. Good luck!

Did you know that the Guinness World Records is the third biggest selling book of all time. It’s also the most borrowed book from school libraries! Schools can currently enter a competition to win a visit from the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kosen. Guinness World Records officials will also visit the winning school to adjudicate a series of world record breaking challenges.

You can enter the competition on the Guinness World Records Schools page, which also has a selection of lesson plans and resources for you to use. There are also some free online ‘page spreads‘ which include 26 pages of facts from the book. Take a look!

Spellathon is a new and exciting, sponsored spelling competition which aims to take over the world, while raising funds for learning disability charity Mencap. Entrants pledge a target number of words to spell correctly whilst practicing ahead of the online global championships to be held in March 2012. All words spelt correctly, are “banked” in your hive and your scores are displayed on the global leader board.

The competition is set in a futuristic digital universe and is presented by ‘The Professor’, a 3D bee character voiced by Stephen Fry. Spellathon can be played anywhere, by anyone – children, students, and adults of any age! You can register now at www.spellathon.net.

Researchers at the University of Kent are inviting all teachers in England to take part in a current nationwide research project. The short online survey is called “Teachers’ views of girls’ & boys’ academic conduct & achievement”. The team are interested in teachers’ views on how children’s gender relates to different aspects of conduct and achievement at school. The survey should take 10-15 minutes and everyone who participates in the research has the opportunity to be entered into a draw to win one of five £10 prizes.

All student/trainee teachers, NQTs, experienced teachers, teaching assistants, and head teachers (providing they teach classes) who work in a primary or secondary school or college in England can take part by visiting this link.

A new competition has been launched across Britain asking schools to create their own denim works of art to help change the lives of children with genetic disorders. Launched Jeans for Genes Day last week, the competition asks schools to produce their own artistic masterpieces using denim and other fabrics. Winning schools will be decided regionally and will be awarded an arts & craft prize worth nearly £500, featuring a range of Avery Trimmers & Guillotines and Hobbycraft vouchers.

The theme for entries is ‘The Future’, with schools encouraged to be as imaginative as they can. Entry possibilities range from denim murals and school hall landscapes to fabric sculptures and art installations. What’s more, schools are free to enter as many times as they wish, meaning pupils from different year groups, lessons and art clubs can all take part. All a school needs to do to enter is take a picture of their finished project and upload it at www.jeansforgenesday.com/averycompetition by the end of December 2011, with a short explanation of the entry. Judging will take place in January 2012 and the winners from six regions across Britain will be announced in February. Good luck!

247tales is an online writing competition from Bloomsbury Publishing that challenges 10-16 year olds to write short stories using 247 words or fewer.

The prize for the winning story is £75 worth of Bloomsbury Children’s books plus a framed copy of the winning story and ten runners-up will receive signed copies of the guest author’s latest book. Winning stories will also appear on the 247tales website so that others can enjoy them too.

Current and future themes for competition entries include ‘The Game’, ‘The Secret’, ‘The Dragon’ and ‘The Mystery’. Could you use this as a starting point for writing in your classroom? For full details on the closing date and how to enter visit the RULES section of the website.

The Dream Lab is a new national design competition for schools. It’s being fronted by Sir Trevor Baylis (inventor of the wind up radio) and Ortis Deley (presenter on Channel 5’s Gadget Show) and it’s inviting school children aged between 13 and 18 to enter their ideas for sleep related gadgets. You can find lots of advice and downloadable resources here.

The winning child’s school design and technology department will win a prize of £20,000 and the winning child or team (up to 4) will win £10,000 to help them get their idea made. Find out more and get involved at thedreamlab.co.uk.

Over the past week, I have been redesigning Teaching News, so that the site matches the style and layout of my other Teaching Websites. The new site has much clearer design with text that is easier to read too. I hope that you like it!

I am also sorting through lots of the older posts (there are about 2,000 of them!) and other content to remove any broken images and links, many of which have arisen following the demise of Teachers.tv and the Standards sites. I’ve also been amazed at how many of the fantastic online resources that have been recommended here over the years have now simply disappeared.

UPDATE – The survey has now closed. Thanks to everyone who provided their feedback.

BBC Learning is launching a national recitation and performance contest for secondary schools as part of the BBC’s Shakespeare Season in 2012.  Students are invited to learn and perform a famous speech from one of Shakespeare’s plays.  They will take on classic speeches and monologues from his greatest works such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and As You Like It.

The contest is designed to get students up on their feet performing and enjoying Shakespearean language. It is also hoped that it will encourage an appreciation of the relevance of his work and its lessons in human nature through exploring the characters.

The Off By Heart website includes resources created by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to get students up on their feet, actively exploring performance choices and language.  It also offers online resources to enable schools to select the student who will best represent their school in the competition.

Schools are invited to register their interest now at www.bbc.co.uk/offbyheart.  In June 2011 schools will be invited to nominate a pupil to represent their school.

Chance to Shine is a national campaign that aims to bring competitive cricket (and its educational benefits) back to schools. The project provides a coaching and competition programme for groups of primary and secondary schools. They also provide equipment, facility development (including playground markings and non-turf pitches) as well as training for teachers and coaches.

The organisers are currently running an exciting competition. To enter, your Key Stage Two pupils have to design a full-page magazine advert to promote the Spirit of Cricket message of ‘Play Hard, Play Fair, Have Fun’.

The winning advert will be reproduced as a full page advert in the ‘All Out Cricket’ magazine this summer. The top four designs will also win a place for twenty of the winning designer’s classmates to play on the outfield at Lord’s during a Test match!

Find out more about the competition at www.chancetoshine.org/competitionsoc.