The clock is ticking for the capital’s youngest creatives. Schools across London have until Wednesday 14 October to submit entries for the return of Hyde Park Winter Wonderland’s annual art competition — and this year, dragons are taking centre stage.
Young artists aged between 4 and 14 are being invited to design a dragon worthy of joining Gandey’s K-Pop Dragon Circus, the spectacular new show making its London premiere at this year’s Winter Wonderland. Whether their creation sings, dances, soars through the night sky or breathes festive glitter, children are being encouraged to let their imaginations run wild.
A judging panel including La Loka the mischievous clown, Gandeys Circus director Mariska Gandey and award-winning author and illustrator Harry Woodgate will pore over the entries. Winners will be announced on 26 October, and the winning artworks will be displayed at Winter Wonderland itself — becoming part of the festive spectacle for thousands of visitors to see.
How to enter
Artwork must be created on the official A4 Hyde Park Winter Wonderland Art Competition Canvas and sent in by post. Every entry needs to include the artist’s name, age and school name, and each participating school must complete a consent form. The canvas, consent form, full details and terms and conditions are available at hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/school-art-competition.
What’s up for grabs
There are three tiers of prizes. Bronze winners will receive a certificate and a book from Usborne. Silver winners get the same, plus tickets to Winter Wonderland, the Magical Ice Kingdom presents Neverland, and Gandey’s K-Pop Dragon Circus. Gold winners will land four tickets to the event’s preview night, a £250 art supply voucher for their school and official Winter Wonderland merchandise.
What this means for your school
For teachers, this is a ready-made classroom project with a real-world payoff. The dragon theme slots neatly into art and design lessons, and because entries are made on a standard A4 canvas and posted in, the logistics are refreshingly simple. The two dates to pin on the staffroom wall are the submission deadline of Wednesday 14 October and the winners’ announcement on 26 October — and with entries travelling by post, it is worth building in a day or two of slack rather than trusting the last collection.
Schools must complete a consent form for participating pupils, so getting that paperwork moving early in the week is wise. Parents, meanwhile, should check whether their child’s school is taking part and make sure the entry carries the young artist’s name, age and school name. With a £250 art supply voucher on the table for gold-winning schools, the whole class stands to benefit — not just the individual winners.
A festive tradition returns
The school art competition has become a fixture of the capital’s run-up to Christmas, giving young Londoners a genuine stake in one of the city’s best-loved festive events. Each year the contest takes its cue from something new at Winter Wonderland, and this time it is the arrival of Gandey’s K-Pop Dragon Circus, premiering in London as part of the Hyde Park extravaganza. Previous winning entries have gone on display on site, turning children’s artwork into part of the attraction itself.
It comes as London gears up for another packed festive season, from the heated igloos returning to the John Lewis rooftop overlooking Oxford Street to Carnaby Street’s 90s-inspired Christmas lights and the Regent Street lights switch-on. With Winter Wonderland once again set to transform Hyde Park into a wonderland of rides, shows, markets and ice sculptures, the competition offers pupils a real brush with the capital’s cultural life.
With just days to go, schools are being urged not to leave it to the last post. For thousands of young artists across London, this could be the year their dragon takes centre stage.
