The Dora Love Prize 2026
JULY 2026
On 3 July, we held the Grand Final of the 2026 Dora Love Prize at The Hold in Ipswich.
Our very special guest was the sculptor Maurice Blik, a child survivor of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He captivated everyone in the audience talking about “memory” and reading a poignant passage from his autobiography “The Art of Survival”. A very special moment!
Our judges had met beforehand to decide on this year’s overall winners, and they were announced at the Grand Final.
The Winner of the 2026 Dora Love Prize from, again, a very strong field of presentations from across all regions are
Northgate High School, Ipswich – for their project about disabled people, a group that is so often overlooked or hidden away
In addition to the overall winner, we awarded three further prizes this year:
The Dora Love Prize for Best Newcomer (for a project submitted by a school that participated for the first time):
St Edward’s RC/CoE School, Poole – for their tree of memory, reflection, inclusion and hope
The Dora Love Prize for Outstanding Online Project:
Meadowridge School, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada – for their board game The Ten Stages of Genocide
The founder of the Dora Love Prize, Professor (em) Rainer Schulze, sponsored a Special Founder’s Prize, awarded to a project that stands out for its exceptional originality, ambition, or a unique vision that goes beyond the standard award categories. This prize was won by Felixstowe School for their striking art piece of a landscape with a bridge
All the projects that were submitted this year again showed the passion, dedication and enthusiasm of the students who developed them. Our thanks also go to all the teachers who gave their students the space to participate.
Photos: © Jon Wright and The Dora Love Prize
JUNE 2026
Join us for our Grand Final of the 2026 Dora Love Prize on Friday, 3 July 2026 at The Hold in Ipswich!
In addition to the Overall Winner of the 2026 Dora Love Prize, we will announce the “Best Newcomer” and the prize for the “Outstanding Online Project” – plus another special award.
Maurice Blik, internationally renowned sculptor and survivor of Bergen-Belsen concentration has signalled that he will attend, and you will be able to engage directly with our students and see their projects close up. It is an evening when we will celebrate the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of our Dora Love Prize students.
Tickets are free, but please register using the Eventbrite link. This will help us manage numbers and is necessary for safeguarding reasons.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dora-love-prize-2026-the-grand-final-tickets-1990629098219
JUNE 2026
On 17 June 2026 we held the Essex final at The Colchester Arts Centre. 6 wonderful projects competed about the Prize of “The Dora Love Prize 2026 Essex Winner”, and again our judges had some difficult decisions to make.
After an extensive discussion they decided:
Essex winner: HEDINGHAM SCHOOL with an engaging project about Hedingham’s Migration Story, aiming to challenge misconceptions.
Essex runner-up: COLCHESTER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS for their project “Who are they: bridging the gap by keeping stories of genocide alive” which focused on individual victims.
Essex runner-up: PAXMAN ACADEMY and their “Silent Voices” project which aims to connect people all race, sexuality, age and background, foster empathy and embrace each other’s unique cultures.
These three projects will go forward to the Grand Final of the 2026 Dora Love Prize on 3 July 2026.
All photos: © The Dora Love Prize
Read more about the Essex final:
JUNE 2026
On 15 June 2026 we held the Suffolk final at The Hold in Ipswich. 7 amazing projects competed about the Prize of “The Dora Love Prize 2026 Suffolk Winner”, and our judges had some difficult decisions to make.
After an extensive discussion they decided:
Suffolk winner: NORTHGATE HIGH SCHOOL with a project focusing on a group so often completely overlooked: disabled people, and their treatment throughout history including during the Nazi rule.
Suffolk runner-up: IPSWICH SCHOOL with a project exploring how much their fellow students were aware of recent genocides (after the Holocaust).
Suffolk runner-up: EAST BERGHOLT HIGH SCHOOL with a project entitled “Mind The Gap” which had at its core the development of a board game for children to learn how to react to discrimination and reinforce empathy.
These three projects will go forward to the Grand Final of the 2026 Dora Love Prize on 3 July 2026.
All photos: © The Dora Love Prize
MAY 2026
We are getting closer to the finals of the 2026 Dora Love Prize!
This year, we are running the Dora Love Prize a bit differently from previous years.
With the number of schools participating in the Prize having one Prize-giving event for all schools proved difficult to manage: the evening went on for too long.
Therefore, we have for the first time introduced regional finals, followed by a Grand Final where the overall winner of the 2026 Dora Love Prize will be announced.
Bournemouth had their regional final already on 19 May, and our Canadian friends run the Dora Love Prize following their own schedule. Their winners will be part of the Grand Final.
The Suffolk final will take place on Monday, 15 June 2026 at 5pm at The Hold – Home of Suffolk Archives, 131 Fore St, Ipswich IP4 1LN
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dora-love-prize-2026-suffolk-final-tickets-1990179149410
The Essex final will take place on Wednesday, 17 June 2026 at 5pm at the Colchester Arts Centre, Church St, Colchester CO1 1NF
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dora-love-prize-2026-essex-final-tickets-1990075980830
The Grand Final will take place on Friday, 3 July 2026 at 7pm at The Hold – Home of Suffolk Archives, 131 Fore St, Ipswich IP4 1LN
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dora-love-prize-2026-the-grand-final-tickets-1990629098219
Join us for the Suffolk and Essex finals and for the Grand Final to see what the projects which our students have developed in the last five months and celebrate their achievement, dedication and enthusiasm!
Tickets are free, but please register using the above Eventbrite links. This will help us manage numbers and is necessary for safeguarding reasons.
MAY 2026
On 19 May 2026, Bournemouth held their regional Prize giving event at Bournemouth University. The winner of their 2026 Dora Love Prize are St Edward’s Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole with a thoughtful project centred around a tree of reflection and hope. They will be invited to present their project at the Grand Final of the 2026 Dora Love Prize on 3 July in Ipswich.
JANUARY 2026
The Dora Love Prize 2026 started with three launch events: on 20 January in Colchester (at the Moot Hall of Colchester Town Hall), on 28 January in Ipswich (at The Hold, Home of Suffolk Archives), and also on 28 January in Bournemouth (at Bournemouth University).
© 2024 THE DORA LOVE PRIZE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
by Originally:Creative
© 2024 THE DORA LOVE PRIZE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
by Originally:Creative