The GCHQ National Language Competition 2026 will be taking place from Monday 16th to Friday 20th November 2026. It is aimed at students in Y9 (England and Wales), Y10 (Northern Ireland) and S2 (Scotland), including those educated at home.
The competition is designed to enthuse students about languages, and hopefully encourage them to select language options at GCSE/N5. No previous language knowledge is required, and the competition contains challenges of varying levels of difficulty.
Registration opens on Wednesday 21st October 2026.
The NLC website also includes a list of FAQs, and some sample challenges for students to try out in preparation for the competition: National Language Competition