Time + Space Award

Illustration showing a young Sir Isaac Newton, Paul McCartney and Beatrix Potter against a colourful background — Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Paul McCartney and Beatrix Potter when they were younger | © National Trust Images/Mike McCartney/Alamy

Thank you to everyone who entered their big idea for the Time + Space Award. We’re pleased to announce the winners in each of the categories.

We received hundreds of inspiring ideas across each of our four categories: science, nature and climate, society and art and culture. Each of our winning entries was selected by a panel of judges and experts in their fields. Congratulations to our four winners and huge thanks to everyone who applied.

Meet the winners

Winner: Science

Abi Way

Abi is currently on a work placement with Airbus. She's looking to encourage and support visually impaired (VI) and blind children to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), by providing a mentoring scheme and organised events and activities.

Based on her own experience, Abi has found that support for VI and blind students is lacking within the education system. Schools have limited resources and limited experience to support these students’ needs to help them work around everyday problems – for example, not being able to read the measuring units on the beakers in chemistry class or not having access to a calculator.

This means VI and blind children are likely to miss vital content and not be able to fully access STEM activities such as science experiments in the classroom. Abi wants to create a support network to help others avoid the challenges she faced – somewhere to reach out to for advice and the support of others who can help them navigate school and beyond.

Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock will mentor Abi to develop her idea.

Time + Space Award Winner - Abi Way — Abi Way, winner of the science category for the Time + Space Award | © Abi Way/National Trust

The prize

The chosen participants have won an award up to the equivalent value of £5,000, which will be a bespoke package including:

A private guided tour of Woolsthorpe Manor with members of the Woolsthorpe team and time to work on their big idea here.
The opportunity to showcase the winning big idea at Woolsthorpe Manor.
Tools and resources to help with the idea.
Meet the judge who's an expert in the subject area either in person or virtually.
The opportunity to work with an expert from the National Trust on the idea.
Dedicated mentoring time around the big idea.
A one-year free entry pass to National Trust places.
A book bundle featuring one book from each of the judges.
Travel and accommodation expenses.

Meet the judges

Judge: Science

Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist whose passion is demonstrating that science is for everyone.

She’s an award-winning, BAFTA-nominated TV presenter and regular panel show member. Maggie has written seven books, served as President of the British Science Association (2021–2022) and is Chancellor of the University of Leicester.

Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock on a blue and pink background — Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock | © National Trust/Lovelight Photography

What is the Time + Space Award?

Many great people have shaped the world we know today. Isaac Newton made discoveries in the fields of calculus and gravity, Beatrix Potter shared her passion for nature with stories such as Peter Rabbit and Paul McCartney made music with three other teenagers who went on to become The Beatles. These people, along with many others, lived in or loved the places that we now look after.

They all lived in separate eras and had individual passions, but one thing they had in common was that each of them had the time and space when they were young to explore their work and make things happen.

The Time + Space Award has been inspired by what Newton called his ‘year of wonders’. At the age of 23, Newton was forced to leave university and return home to Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, a farmhouse we care for, because of a pandemic in 1666. He used this time to explore his ideas on calculus, optics and the laws of motion and gravity.

The winners of this award will now have the time, space and opportunity to develop their big idea in each of their four areas – science, nature and climate, society and art and culture. A panel of experts from the fields of science, creativity and culture will help them develop their idea and bring it to life.

Who was Isaac Newton?

Isaac Newton was always inspired by the natural environment and landscape around him. As a young child, his natural curiosity and ability to work well with his hands meant he’d already taken the first steps into a lifetime of observation and experimentation. The experiments he conducted, from as young as 15 years old, encouraged him to carry out further studies.

At 18 years old, Newton went to study at Trinity College in Cambridge. But in 1665, he was forced to leave university and return to his childhood home, Woolsthorpe Manor, to escape the Great Plague. It was here he explored the things that interested him and made world-changing discoveries on calculus, optics and the laws of motion and gravity.

An apple tree in the orchard at Woolsthorpe Manor is said to be the tree from which an apple fell and prompted Newton to ask why things always fell to the ground. He theorised that everything in existence is attracted to everything else and this attraction or power ties the universe together. You can still visit his childhood home and see the apple tree today.

The promoter of the Time + Space Award is The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, a registered charity with number 205846. Our registered office is at Heelis, Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2NA. You can contact us via email at time-and-space@nationaltrust.org.uk, or via phone at 0344 800 1895.

Entering the competition

The Time + Space Award has now closed. If you'd like to see the entry process for the Award, please read the terms and conditions below.

To enter the Time + Space Award, you must complete the entry form. If you need the entry form in another format or have access needs, please email time-and-space@nationaltrust.org.uk.

There are four questions to choose from:

Science – how can science be more accessible and relevant to everyone?

Nature and climate – nature and climate are in crisis. How can your big idea save them and help us break out of the echo chamber?

Society – what’s your big idea that would change society for the better, for everyone?

Art and culture – access to art and culture isn’t equal. How can your big idea address the imbalance?

Tell us about your idea in response to one of the above questions by submitting either a written submission between 200 and 2,000 words, a link to a video between 30 seconds and 10 minutes, or a link to an audio file between 30 seconds and 10 minutes. You can’t amend your entry once you’ve submitted it. If your entry is longer than the maximum words or time allowed, we’ll only read or listen to the words or time allowed.

You may only submit one entry per set question, but you may submit an entry for more than one question. If you submit more than one entry for one question, both will be assessed and only the highest-scoring one will be valid. If you submit entries for multiple questions, you'll only have the chance to win one prize.

You can enter the competition between 00:01 on 10 January 2024 and 23:59 on 30 April 2024. 

By submitting a completed entry form, you’re agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you or your entry do not comply with the requirements of any of these terms, you may be disqualified.

The Time + Space Award is free to enter. No purchase of any kind is necessary to submit an entry.

We’re not responsible for entry forms that are incorrectly submitted or corrupted for any reason, including, for example, as a result of any equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. If your entry form isn’t correctly submitted, you won’t be entered into the competition.  

Eligibility

Entrants must:

Be an individual, not a company or a group of people

Be aged 16–25 at the time of application

Reside in the UK

Be available to attend Woolsthorpe Manor and/or the other locations as set out below in the prize section

Be able and willing to enter into and comply with the terms of this participation agreement

Submit an entry form that contains an answer to one of the questions outlined in the application form. It needs to be at least 200 words or a 30 second video or audio file.

You’re not eligible to enter the competition if you’re:

An employee of the National Trust or anyone who lives in the household of someone who works at the National Trust

A volunteer at the National Trust that’s involved in this project

If you’re aged between 16 and 18, we will need to obtain the permission of your parent, guardian or carer for you to enter this competition. If you’d like to speak to us about this, please get in touch at time-and-space@nationaltrust.org.uk.

The idea that you submit on your entry form must be your own original work. You can’t use content that you’ve previously created with another person or as part of a group. By submitting your entry, you warrant that your idea isn’t copied from or owned by someone else.  

Free gift

Every entrant that submits a valid entry to the Time + Space Award shall receive a free day pass for two people valid until August 2024. These access passes are subject to the access pass term and conditions.

A valid entry is an entry made that complies with the terms set out in the eligibility section above.

The prize

The Time + Space Award gives four entrants (one for each question) the chance to win an award up to the equivalent value of £5,000, which will be a bespoke package consisting of the following:

Time at Woolsthorpe Manor on such dates as the winner is available, with members of the Woolsthorpe Manor team which will allow them to:

Have a private guided tour of the property 

Meet with the judge relevant to the question on their big idea

Have dedicated time to work on their big idea 

The opportunity to showcase their big idea at Woolsthorpe Manor, dependent on the practicalities of the idea

Provision of tools and resources to help the winner with their big idea up to the value of £1,000 per person. This list will be finalised with their respective panel member but could include additional visits, kits, additional mentoring and showreels

The opportunity to spend time with one of the judges in a way of your choosing, this could be a call or a visit to somewhere you care about, for example

The opportunity to work with an expert from the National Trust relevant to the submitted idea

The opportunity to have mentoring around your big idea

One-year free pass to National Trust places, valid from 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2025

Book bundle featuring one book from each of the judges including:

Small Space Revolution: Planting Seeds of Change in Your Community by Tayshan Hayden-Smith

An Atlas of Endangered Species by Megan McCubbin

The Sky at Night: The Art of Stargazing by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock

The Cult of Progress by David Olusoga

We'll cover all your travel and accommodation costs and out-of-pocket expenses. We'll also pay costs to support childcare, caring duties and loss of working hours.

If you’re under 18 at the time of attending any of the events, you must be accompanied by either a parent or guardian for any overnight stays. If that’s not possible, we’ll speak to you about providing a chaperone.

In order to receive the prizes described above, each winner will need to enter into a participation agreement with us. 

No cash or other alternative prizes are available. 

We'll arrange the dates to attend the properties and participate depending on your and our availability. The dates will be between June and December 2024.

We might also invite winners to participate in further days between June 2024 and December 2024 (we‘ll notify you of specific dates in advance) for media and promotional opportunities. You won’t be obliged to attend on these additional days or take part in such media or promotional opportunities or any other publicity we may wish to ask you to take part in. 

We’ll do all we can to notify you of dates in advance. If for any reason we need to amend or postpone any of the dates, we’ll notify you as soon as reasonably possible and will work with you to arrange alternative dates.

The judging process

Firstly, submitted entry forms will be screened and any invalid entries will be rejected.

Then, an independent judge will review all the valid entries submitted between the opening date and the closing date (set out in term 3) and comply fully with these terms, to narrow them down to a long list of 100 applicants, 25 per category, using the following assessment criteria:

How interesting is the idea? (0–5 points)

How impactful the idea could be in the question category it relates to (0–5 points)

How likely it is that the award will be able to help make the big idea more of a reality? (0–5 points)

Whether the idea challenges the status quo (0–5 points)

Likelihood the National Trust will be able to support the big idea in other ways (0–5 points)

How much the award would mean personally to you and how much of an impact it would have on you (0–5 points)

The top 100 scoring entries will then be reviewed by at least two representatives of the National Trust, a representative from Woolsthorpe Manor, at least one person from the National Trust’s Young Person Steering Group, and an independent judge.

We'll combine the scores from these two steps and the top 15 scoring entries will be selected. Only one entry per individual can be included in the shortlist of 60.

The shortlist of 60 entries will be judged by a final panel. The panel will include: four judges, at least two representatives of the National Trust and at least one independent judge with relevant expertise. Full names of the judging panel are available on request. 

The full panel will review the shortlist. Each panel member will review and score all 15 entries on the shortlist for their category. The panel will meet, either online or in person, and each panel member will discuss their top five scoring entries and recommend a winner. If someone from the panel is unable to meet, they’ll vote by proxy. If there is no clear winner, the independent judge and National Trust panel will have the deciding vote. We’ll invite the winners to enter into a participation agreement.

The panel will assess each entry for validity from 10 January 2024. The judging process shall take place between 10 January and 1 July 2024.

The four winners will be notified no later than 7 July 2024 by email to the email address they provided in their entry form. The selected winners will have seven calendar days to accept their prize and sign and return the participation agreement(s) which will be sent to them. If any of those winners don’t want to participate or don’t return the fully signed participation agreement within seven calendar days, their prize will be automatically forfeited and the next highest-scoring entrant for that question on the long list will be selected as a winner. The same process will apply to any replacement winner.

Legally, we must make available information that indicates that a valid award of the Time + Space Award took place. To comply with this obligation, we'll send the surname and county of each of the four winning entrants who accepted the Time + Space Award to anyone who emails time-and-space@nationaltrust.org.uk by 31 July 2024.

If you object to your surname and county being published, please contact us at the email address given above. In such circumstances, we must still provide this information and your entry if it is asked to do so by the Advertising Standards Authority.

General terms 

In running this competition, we’ll comply with our safeguarding policy.

We'll process your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy.

All instructions on the entry form are a part of these terms and conditions. 

We reserve the right to hold, void, suspend, cancel, or amend this competition where it becomes necessary to do so.

These terms and conditions are governed by English law. If any entrants to this promotion wish to take court proceedings, then they must do this within the courts in the United Kingdom.