Have your Say 2026

Following the success of the 2025 competition with over 400 students participating, here the dates and venues for the 2026 Have Your Say Languages competition organised by the Association for Language Learning Essex and East Anglian Branch.

Schools are invited to enter pupils for this year’s exciting competition for young linguists, now in its thirty-fifth year. There will be four sections for each language and pupils will work in pairs and may enter for one section in one language only (maximum 2 pairs per section per school). Entries can only be for the correct age group, i.e. Year 7, 8, 9 or 10. Please note that pupils will be disqualified if inappropriately entered and native speakers are not permitted to enter the competition in the language which they speak at home or in which a parent or carer is a native speaker.

THE COMPETITION – Pupils in all sections will compete in pairs and will perform, without notes, one dialogue chosen from those supplied to the teacher in advance. The top four pairs in each section will go through to the regional final. The dialogues provided for Years 7-9 will be open-ended, i.e. pupils will be expected to provide their own conclusion of 4 lines. Year 10 pupils will be expected to write a dialogue (maximum 14 lines, i.e. 7 lines each) based on one of two outlines provided, using at least 8 phrases from those given. We appreciate that teachers will wish to offer some help to their pupils in the preparation of the dialogues, but it is anticipated that most of the work will be done by the pupils themselves. Judges will be allowed to disqualify or mark down those pupils using language considered too difficult for their age/level. In the final, all competitors will perform their original dialogue and an additional language task suitable for their age group.

ENTRY FEE – £3 per pair where the teacher or school are members of the ALL. Please provide membership number on the entry form. £5 per pair where teachers are non-members. If you would like to join, please visit: https://www.all-languages.org.uk/join/

Please complete the Entry Form Here

THE PRELIMINARY ROUND will start promptly at 4.30pm and finish at 6.30pm approx. at three locations. Refreshments will be available from 4pm. You are asked to choose the most convenient venue for your pupils. Should any venue become too full, we may have to ask the last entries to select another venue.

Woodbridge School, Woodbridge IP12 4JH –  Wednesday 4 March 2026
The Stanway School, Colchester, CO3 0QA – Tuesday 10 March 2026
Westcliff High School for Girls, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 0BS – Tuesday 17 March 2026

THE REGIONAL FINAL will be held on 13 May 2026 at Thomas Lord Audley School, Colchester, CO2 8NJ. At the final there will be refreshments from 4pm. We aim to start promptly at 4.30pm and finish by 7.30pm approx.

Participating schools are reminded that no one may photograph any pupils in the Have Your Say competition, other than their own pupils. There will be two ALL banners which teachers may use as a background if they wish to photograph their own pupils. Please be advised that no videos or recordings are allowed during the competition. The enclosed entry form should be returned by 16 January 2026 together with proof of payment of the appropriate fee.

Payment is possible only by BACS to ALL ESSEX& EAST ANGLIAN BRANCH – Account No 67388684 Sort Code 08-92-99. Please note that this is a new bank account.

Please return form and copy of BACS payment authorisation to Mrs Lucia Verona via email: [email protected]

Copies of the dialogues will be sent by email as soon as entries and fees are received.