Sketch for Survival Junior
A global art initiative in aid of conservation.
Be a part of Sketch for Survival Junior by entering our art competition which is open to everyone aged 18 years and under.
Please note: guidelines updated for 2025 submissions (Dec 2024) including new age categories and 31 May submission deadline. Submissions open 1 January 2025.
Overview
Sketch for Survival Junior helps to raise vital awareness about species extinction and biodiversity loss while also raising funds for projects around the world.
The competition showcases a range of different art styles and unites the voices of young people from all around the world in support of conservation. We regularly receive entries from Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, China, South Korea, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia & NZ, Canada, the US, Brazil, Dubai, Qatar, Turkey, Tanzania, South Africa and most countries in Europe.
We have three NEW age groups for 2025 – these are detailed below for you. Submissions open January – May.
SKETCH FOR SURVIVAL JUNIOR
Competition Summary
Anyone aged 18 years and under can enter Sketch for Survival Junior;
There are three age groups: up to 11 years old, 12-16 years old & 17-18 years old;
Artworks should focus on a threatened species (please see full guidelines below regarding what you can enter);
The closing date is 31 May;
Our expert selection panel includes artists Gary Hodges and Sophie Green;
Up to 10 artworks in each age category (from all submissions) will be selected for exhibition and auction. Other selected entries will be showcased online;
School entries welcome – please see below for full details;
ALL proceeds from the auction of Sketch for Survival Junior artworks in November support our Project Fund.
There are 3 stages to the competition:
Stage 1 – Enter Online: submissions open January – May
It is free to enter. Please ensure your artwork meets the criteria or it will be discounted.
Stage 2 – Longlist Announced (19 June 2025)
Our panel will review all entries using the submission form and image provided. If you are longlisted by the selection panel – congratulations – you will be asked to ship the original artwork to Explorer HQ in Norfolk, UK. Full details will be provided in June.
Stage 3 – Final Collections Announced (4 September 2025)
Finalists – these artworks will be included in our UK exhibitions and online fundraising auction.
Highly Commended – these artworks will be included in our online and pop up stores.
Certificates
All participants are able to download a certificate of partipation when they complete the submission form. Please look out for the confirmation screen which appears immediately after you submit your form – we do not send an email.
Additional certificates are also issued to the finalists, to the winners in each age category, and to schools, by our school co-ordinator, Neil.
Schools & Colleges are encouraged to enter. Visit our dedicated Schools Page for more details.
Please note: no artworks can be returned. Please do not send us your artwork unless we have requested it and you are prepared to donate it in support of the charity. Thank you.
SKETCH FOR SURVIVAL JUNIOR
Full Submission Guidelines
The competition is open to anyone aged 18 years or younger.
You can live anywhere in the world.
There are three age categories:
Up to 11 years old
12-16 years old
17-18 years old
You should enter the age category based on your age at the time of submission.
For example, if you turn 12 in April:
You would enter the Up to 11 years old category if completing your artwork and submitting your entry in January; you would enter the 12-16 category if completing your artwork and submitting your entry in May.
By submitting an artwork to Sketch for Survival Junior you will be helping to make a stand against extinction – you will help us to raise awareness about threats facing wildlife and wild spaces.
Every participant will be able to download a digital Certificate of Participation.
Every participant is invited to submit a photo of themselves with their artwork – these images will be made into a supporters’ mosaic and included in our exhibition, no matter what stage of the competition you reached.
There are tangible benefits for the junior finalists:
- all the finalists’ artworks will be exhibited in London & other venues;
- seen by a wide audience;
- sold by online auction alongside our main collections;
- in addition, the winner of the 17-18 years old category will be invited to submit an artwork to our On the Brink 2026 collection, to be exhibited during our 2026 tour alongside established artists, and sold in the auction on a 50/50 basis with the artist.
Sketch for Survival Junior raises awareness about threatened species.
We use the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species, as a guide to which species are considered ‘threatened’.
The main focus of your artwork can be anything in the following categories from the IUCN Red List:
Vulnerable (VU)
Endangered (EN)
Critically Endangered (CR)
or Extinct in the Wild (EW)
These global categorisations mean the species faces a high risk of extinction. To check conservation status please visit www.IUCNredlist.org and use the species search.
Your chosen species can be within its habitat or pictured on its own.
The submission form will ask you to tell us exactly what have you drawn/painted.
All submissions to Sketch for Survival Junior must be unframed and on paper or parchment.
NO canvas / box frames are permitted and will be discounted from selection.
We accept artworks in the following two size categories (landscape or portrait orientation accepted):
A4:
Your paper size can be anywhere in the range from 21cm – 23cm (short side) by 29.7 cm – 31.7cm (long side).
The minimum acceptable size and visible area is 21 cm by 29.7 cm. The maximum acceptable paper size is 23cm by 31.7cm.
Please note- anything outside the VISIBLE AREA will be covered by the picture mount.
A3:
Your paper size can be anywhere in the range from 29.7cm – 31.7cm (short side) by 42cm – 44 cm (long side).
The minimum acceptable size and visible area is 29.7cm by 42cm. The maximum acceptable paper size is 31.7cm by 44cm.
Please note- anything outside the VISIBLE AREA will be covered by the picture mount.
Artworks cannot be any smaller or any larger than the dimensions given above. They will not fit in our exhibition frames and will be discounted from selection.
**If you are cutting down your artwork, please do not cut it right down to the minimum size – aim for somewhere in the middle of the range so that we can mount it! **
All artworks must be original.
All mediums, techniques and styles are welcome.
Why do you have size restrictions?
- We use reusable exhibition frames to display the finalist’s artwork – this cuts down on plastic and packaging and helps our exhibition display look consistent.
- Having two set sizes gives us a level playing field and allows us to more fairly evaluate the merits of one artwork against another during the selection phase – this would be more difficult to do if we were comparing a huge artwork with a tiny one. Having a range of sizes would also increase the challenges we already face when hanging the exhibition at different venues.
One work per artist.
We are accepting online submissions until 31 May. No extensions are permitted.
Please read the submission guidelines on this page carefully and follow the steps below:
1.ARTWORK
Complete your artwork taking into account our competition guidelines (pay special attention to SIZE & SUBJECT)
Take a photo of your entry.
Rename the photo with your name and age. This is VERY IMPORTANT!
Take a photo of you with your artwork (optional).
Keep your artwork somewhere safe.
2.COMPLETE SUBMISSION FORM
Click the ENTER link on this page between January and May – this will open a short submission form. Please make sure you enter the correct age category.
Follow the instructions on the submission form and complete all the fields.
You will be asked to attach a good quality JPEG image of your completed artwork to the submission form. It can be up to 5MB in size. The first stage of selection is done online by viewing the image of your artwork so please make sure it is in focus and labelled correctly with your name and age! A photo taken on your mobile phone should be fine.
PDFS ARE NOT PERMITTED AND WILL NOT BE VIEWED.
Please only complete one form!
3.ENTER
When you press the ENTER button at the bottom of the submission form, look out for a confirmation message to pop up on your screen – this means your entry has been received – thank you. You will not receive an email.
Follow the link provided on the confirmation message to our SUPPORTERS’ HUB – here you can download a certificate of participation and share an image of you with your artwork for inclusion in our special supporters’ mosaic.
Check our social media / home page of our website for the longlist announcement on Thursday 19 June (from midday UK time). Check your spam folder in case you’ve received an email notification from us.
Schools/colleges are encouraged to enter.
We have a dedicated schools co-ordinator, Neil, who you can contact at neil@realworldconservation.org.uk
Each school that enters will have a winner selected from their entries by us. All pupil entries will also be included in the relevant age category of the Junior Competition.
How to enter as a school – please read these guidelines:
1.CONTACT NEIL
for a Schools’ Information Pack.
2.ARTWORK
Check the competition guidelines (pay special attention to SIZE & SUBJECT) and invite your students to create an eligible artwork.
Take a photo of each entry and rename the photo with the student’s name and age. PDFS ARE NOT PERMITTED AND WILL NOT BE VIEWED.
Organise your entries into specific age-group folders and complete the relevant age-group form:
- Bulk Upload Form – 11 years and under
- Bulk Upload Form – 12-16 years
- Bulk Upload Form – 17-18 years
Create an additional folder to drop individual images of the students with their artworks into, or class photos if you prefer (optional) – any images we receive will be included in our Supporters’ Mosaic.
3.ZIP YOUR FOLDERS TOGETHER AND SEND TO NEIL
Your master folder should be named with the name of your school.
To zip a folder – right click the folder, select SEND TO…and then choose Zipped (Compressed) folder.
You can send this zipped folder to Neil by email neil@realworldconservation.org.uk or if it is too large then please send by WeTransfer (this is free to use).
Neil will confirm safe receipt of your entries and send you a Certificate of Participation.
The teacher’s email address will be added to our competition database as the main point of contact – if you have a student(s) longlisted or selected as a Finalist you will receive an email – please keep an eye out for this on result days and check your spam folder!
The longlist will be published 19 June and the Finalists announced 4 September – results can be accessed by everyone from midday via our Website Home Page, or via social media.
Further information can be found on our dedicated Schools Page. This has information on the competition, other resources we can provide for teachers, and the benefits of participating.
Every year the standard of artwork goes up and deliberations take longer! These are the stages of selection:
1.All online entries are reviewed in June – a longlist is announced online on 19 June. Longlisted artists are invited to send their artwork to Explorer HQ in Norfolk UK for the next stage of selection. If you have not been longlisted then unfortunately that is the end of the competition for you. Thank you for taking part. If you sent us a photo of you with your artwork you will be included in our Supporters’ Mosaic.
2.The selection panel meet in July/August to review all the longlisted works received. They are tasked with selecting up to 10 finalists in each age group from the longlist. The finalists’ will be announced online on 4 September – these artworks will be included in our autumn exhibitions and fundraising auction.
All other artworks in the longlist will be awarded Highly Commended and offered in support of the charity via our online store, and in our pop up stores at exhibition venues.
All longlisted artworks will be reviewed by a panel of leading artists, including:
Gary Hodges is the UK’s best selling and most collectable wildlife pencil artist. He has been a judge for the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year Awards since 2008 and has won numerous awards in his own right.
Sophie Green is an award-winning wildlife artist and conservation activist. She has dedicated her time and artistic work to raising awareness for issues surrounding animal welfare and the environment, as well as donating a percentage of her profits to conservation charities. Sophie has been awarded the Medal of Excellence by the Artists For Conservation Foundation for her work in the conservation sphere, was highly commended in the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition and was the winner of the Leisure Painter People’s Choice Award.
Last year we were also joined by guest judges Mark Adlington, Sevina Yates and Ali Nicholls.
Sara White and Robert Ferguson, founding trustees of Explorers Against Extinction will complete the panel.
You may find the Sketch for Survival archive at the bottom of the page a useful tool before deciding what to submit. The archive will give you some indication of the standard.
Our selection panel reviews all the entries and decides on the longlist, the finalists and the awards.
Sketch for Survival Junior Artist of the Year will be awarded in each of the three age categories, with two runner-up spots. Winners and the runners-up receive a printed certificate.
In addition, our panel will award trophies to:
SFS UK Junior School of the Year
SFS UK Senior School of the Year
SFS International School of the Year
The judges decision will be based on the overall quality of the group submisson.
During in-person selection, our panel view and discuss all the longlisted artworks. They also review the submission forms before deciding on their finalists.
The panel can only select up to 10 finalists in each age category.
If your work is not selected at this stage then it will be awarded Highly Commended and become part of the Highly Commended collection. This collection is added to our online and pop up stores (pop up stores are open at our exhibition venues). The artworks are sold in support of the charity, usually priced at £25-£50 (depending on age category/size) plus any applicable shipping if sold online.
To enter, please complete our online submission form (January – May)
Please do not send your artwork to us – the first stage of judging is done online.
If your name is on the longlist then you will be contacted by email with next steps (or you teacher will be contacted by email if you entered via your school). Please check your Spam folder for emails!
You can also check results yourself by visiting our website home page or social media and looking for RESULTS on the dates and times given.
We do not cover the cost of postage.
We do not cover the cost of printing if your artwork is a digital piece.
If you are selected for the longlist, you are responsible for printing your artwork, signing it and sending it to us.
No artwork is returned.
It is a good idea to take a scan of your artwork before you send it to us so you have a record of your work.
Sketch For Survival Junior 2025: Full Terms and Conditions:
- The competition is open to artists worldwide who qualify for the age categories (i.e. 18 or under) except for employees of the Real World Conservation Trust (RWCT), their immediate families, agents, or anyone else associated with administration of this competition.
- Closing date for receipt of entries is midnight GMT on 31 May 2025.
- To enter, complete the online submission form by the closing date. Do not post/mail your artwork to us.
- Artists longlisted by the judges will be contacted by Thursday 19 June with details of how to send/mail their artworks to us for the second round of judging. Failure to forward the original artwork to us will result in elimination from the competition.
- The finalists will be announced on Thursday 4 September. Winners in each category will be announced during our exhibition tour.
- The RWCT has the right to publish all entries on its website explorersagainstextinction.co.uk and selected ones on its Social Media channels.
- The RWCT reserves the right to publish images of the finalists’ artworks in other promotional material associated with the campaign. Artworks will not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.
- The RWCT will sell the finalists’ artwork through its gallery, online gallery and online auction. All receipts from this art will go to the Explorers Against Extinction Project Fund, supporting frontline conservation worldwide.
- Entries limited to one per artist.
- E-mail addresses will only be used by RWCT for updates on the competition in their newsletter which can be opted out of. They will not be disclosed to any other parties.
- The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
- The winner agrees to participate in any reasonable publicity required by the RWCT.
Promoter: The Real World Conservation Trust. UK Charity 1177505. Registered Address: Happisburgh, Norwich, Norfolk, NR12 0QQ
SKETCH FOR SURVIVAL JUNIOR ARCHIVE
