Terms & Conditions

1.  The competition is organised by the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division of the University of Oxford; led by Daisy J. Hung, MPLS Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Jo Knights, MPLS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator.

2.  Entry to the competition is open to all children who are in school years 5, 6, 7 and 8, attending a state school in Oxfordshire. The competition is free to enter.

3.  Artwork can be in any art form – drawing, painting, sculpture, music, dance, poetry, digital media or any other.

4.  Artwork submitted must be the entrant’s original work and it must not infringe the rights of third parties including copyright, trade mark, trade secrets, privacy, publicity, personal or proprietary rights.

5.  Individual and group submissions are accepted. Entrants can enter the competition either individually or as part of a group – but not both. Only one entry per person is allowed.

6.  To be considered in the competition, both the artwork and the completed Entry Form 2023 must be received.

7.  For physical items, please write your name, year group and school on the back, or another discreet place on the artwork that is not visible to the judges. Please mail or deliver your artwork and entry form to:

Jo Knights
University of Oxford, MPLS Division
9 Parks Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire
OX1 3PD

8.  Participants will need to cover the costs for mail or delivery.

9.  Electronic submissions of artwork and Entry Forms must be sent to: diversity@mpls.ox.ac.uk.

10.  Closing date/time for entries: Friday 28 April 2023 at 5pm. Entries received after this time will not be considered. Any entry which is late, incomplete or inappropriate for the purposes of this competition will be deemed invalid at the discretion of MPLS.

11.  Participants will be asked to provide their name, age, school and school year, and a title and short description of their artwork (100 word count maximum) on the Entry Form. All writing must be submitted in English.

12.  The child’s parent or guardian will be required to approve the entry on the Entry Form and provide their own name, telephone number and contact email (not the child’s), and confirm agreement to these Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Notice.

13.  MPLS accepts no responsibility for damaged, lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete entries, or for entries that cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason. Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt.

14.  The judges shall assess the entries, and one winner and one runner-up from each year group (5, 6, 7 and 8) will be selected. The judges’ decisions shall be final. No correspondence regarding the results will be entered into.

15.  The winner from each year group will receive a £100 cash prize and the runner-up from each year group will receive a £50 cash prize. For group entries, the prize money is for the entire group to be divided or used as they see fit (i.e. £100 for the winning group to divide or use as they see fit, not £100 given to each group member). Prizes will be distributed during an Award Ceremony, at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in June, and participants will be notified as soon as possible. Arrangements will be made for winners and runners-up who are not able to attend the Award Ceremony.

16.  Winners and runners-up will have their artwork displayed along with other selected works (chosen by the judging panel) in an exhibition at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Dates and location may be subject to change, and participants will be notified as soon as possible.

17.  Entries will not be returned. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted. Winners and runners up will be shared on the Beyond Boundaries website. Select artwork (from the winners, runners-up and others chosen by the judging panel) will be exhibited at a phyiscal exhibition and shared online via the Beyond Boundaries website and other University of Oxford webpages. We hope to display as many artworks as possible. (Dates and location to be confirmed, and participants will be notified as soon as possible.)

18.  After the exhibition, artwork may be moved to displays in relevant departments or spaces within the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division or Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford.

19.  Each participant owns the copyright to their artwork entry. By submitting an entry to the competition, MPLS has 1) permission for the entry to be published and has a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to republish your entry in electronic format and hard copy for purposes connected with the competition; and 2) the right to use the participant’s name, age, school year, school name, and artwork description (from the Entry Form) for the purpose of identifying the creator of the artwork.

20.  By submitting an entry, participants agree that MPLS may use the entry for any purpose connected with the competition, please see Privacy Notice for details.

21.  Participants can withdraw their entry at any time. If an entry is withdrawn at any stage (including after the judges’ assessment of the entries), the University will take reasonable steps to delete any online images of the artwork and any personal data it holds about the entrant. It may not be proportionate or practical to delete hard copy materials which have already been printed and distributed or images of the artwork in other formats. Any questions or concerns should be emailed to diversity@mpls.ox.ac.uk.

22.  MPLS reserves the right to refuse entry or to refuse to award the prize to anyone in breach of the Terms and Conditions or the spirit of the Terms and Conditions.

22.  MPLS accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by entrants as a result of entering the competition or accepting the prize.

23.  MPLS reserves the right, at any time, and from time to time to amend, modify, vary, or discontinue the terms of this competition. These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between the parties.