The Imagine Awards celebrates teachers who incorporate architecture and the wider built environment into their classroom as part of the primary curriculum or built environment professionals who engage with primary schools.

By showcasing innovative teaching methods, the Imagine Awards encourages more educators to use the built environment as a tool for learning.

By making a submission, you contribute to a growing resource bank that supports teachers and helps more children and young people explore and understand the built environment.

The awards are open to primary schools and teachers and built environment collaborators.

You can submit any past activities or lessons, and can submit multiple different times. You can also submit any current activities, projects or lessons that link the built environment to the primary curriculum. If your activity does not link directly to the curriculum we are still interested in learning about it and its impact on children and young people.

Each category has its own submission form, please fill in as much detail as possible but don’t worry if you are missing information, we would rather you submit what you can then not at all.

Applications are made online using a simple form on our website.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications by any other method. If you have any problem accessing this platform, email us: imagineprogramme@thorntoneducationtrust.org

Please note that all applications must be written in English.

There are 11 categories.

Eight of these are for schools and teachers to submit lessons and activities to that relate to the built environment.

One for collaborators who engage with primary schools and the other two are to nominate a teacher or collaborator of the year.

Each category has its own dedicated submission form. To access it, visit the page for the category you wish to enter and click the ‘Submit your entry ’ button to complete your application.

You can make as many submissions as you wish. These can be past projects, a one off activity, a series of lessons or long term engagement.

The Imagine Awards help us to gather examples and case studies of innovative teaching methods and collaborations that support the integration of the built environment into primary education. By making a submission you are helping us to achieve this.

The awards are free to submit for schools and teachers.

For collaborators there is a submission fee to help us cover some of the essential running costs associated with the awards and to make this possible for teachers to submit for free.

Submission fees are:

• £69.00 per entry for small not-for-profits

• £149.00 per entry for built environment companies, organisations and institutions.

There is no cost for nominating a teacher or collaborator of the year.

We ask for a lead contact person who we will liaise with on all correspondence.

Yes!

You can support the Imagine programme in multiple ways.

Download our Sponsorship package here.

We would be delighted to discuss opportunities. Please email us at imagineprogrammes@thorntoneducationtrust.org for more details.

Tickets for the Imagine Awards 2026 ceremony will be announced in June. For now, please keep the evening of Thursday 9th July free. 

Entry is free for one teacher per school and there will be a charge for all other entrants.

Any questions? Email Grace at imagineprogramme@thorntoneducationtrust.org

An independent panel of leaders in education and the built environment select the winners, after carefully reviewing all entries.

If you know a primary teacher please help us spread the word by passing on the details of our awards to schools and teachers.

We want to recognise the important work they are doing and help other teachers incorporate architecture and the wider built environment into primary education.