Secondary schools

Welcome to the Step into the NHS competition!

Raise your KS3 students’ career aspirations and explore the breadth of NHS job opportunities with our curriculum-linked resources and nationwide competition. The winning entry will even be displayed in their local community!

Our 2024 Winner

Introducing the competition

The Step into the NHS competition introduces students to the more than 350 NHS careers so they are inspired and motivated to fulfil their potential, no matter their interests and skills.

Linked to the objectives of the Department for Education’s careers strategy and the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance, the resources provide students with valuable information about career opportunities, encouraging higher education aspirations and helping to develop essential job-seeking skills.

Our competition video explains how it works and you can find out more in our teacher guidance.

Enter the competition

We are challenging students in years 7-9 to create a job advertisement showcasing one NHS role of their choice. The advert should include the key responsibilities of their chosen role, along with any qualifications, skills and experience.

Time remaining

The competition has now closed. See our online gallery in June to see the winning entries! Winners will also be announced on the NHS Health Careers website.

You can still make use of our teaching resources and lesson plans. See below for details.

Sign up for competition updates

To be notified of future competition updates, sign up here.

The online gallery

See our online gallery to explore a wide range of fantastic entries from previous years. The 2024-25 winning entries will also be displayed here!

The Step into the NHS Day

Join our Step into the NHS Day livestream on Wednesday 5 March to give students the unique opportunity to meet NHS staff live, ask their burning questions and engage in a range of activities to boost careers learning. With over 30,000 students joining last year, we’re excited to offer this unique opportunity to even more students. Please email us if you are interested.

Student celebrating competition win

The important details

We’re asking students to create a job advertisement showcasing one NHS role of their choice. The advert should include the key responsibilities of their chosen role, along with any qualifications, skills and experience.

Whilst it is not part of the judging criteria, we are keen for students to choose NHS roles that they may not have much knowledge of.

Students can enter individually or in teams of up to four.

Entries must be received no later than 23:59 on Wednesday 30 April 2025.

  • Overall national winner(s) will have their entry displayed publicly for their local community to see. They will also each receive Amazon vouchers worth £50, an NHS goody bag and a framed certificate. They will also receive a class prize which will be discussed with the school.
  • Regional winners will each receive an Amazon voucher worth £25, an NHS goody bag and a certificate.
  • Winners will have their entries showcased in our online gallery.
  • One highly commended certificate per entry will be awarded to the top entries per region.
  • A digital ‘well done’ certificate will be sent out for those who weren’t chosen as a national or regional winner, or as highly commended.

Whether they enter individually or as a group, each student will receive a prize if they have a national or regional winning entry.

Our expert panel of NHS judges are looking forward to seeing your students’ fantastic competition entries. They will be looking for evidence that students have learnt about NHS careers using the resources or independent research. They want to see students’ creativity shine through.

They will be looking for the following:

30%: Student appeal
  • Fun, lively and appealing to peer group.
  • Was the idea/solution showcased effectively?
  • Does it have clear structure and presentation?
30%: Creativity
  • Are there any creative ideas shown?
  • Is there anything particularly innovative in its execution?
  • Have the student(s) created something different?
40%: Understanding of chosen role
  • Understanding of role in job advertisement and what it involves such as duties and tasks.
  • Understanding of entry routes to chosen career including qualifications and skills needed.

If your student(s)’ entry is chosen as a regional winner, they will have the opportunity to present their entries to NHS judges at our virtual Winners’ Day, where the overall national winner will be crowned!

Competition terms and conditions
  1. The competition is open to students in years 7-9 in all secondary schools, in England only.
  2. Group and individual entries will be accepted. Groups must comprise of no more than four students.
  3. Only one entry per student or group of students will be accepted. There is no restriction on the number of entries received from schools.
  4. All postal entries must clearly state student name(s), year group and school and be sent with completed teacher and student entry forms. Please see the entry page for more information.
  5. Postal entries must be sent to FREEPOST STEP INTO THE NHS COMPETITION. The competition name must always appear in caps as shown. No other addressing details such as road, town or postcode should be used. Postal entries must be submitted with the official teacher and student entry forms.
  6. Online submissions must be uploaded to the entry page. Each file must be named with the student(s)' names, year group and school. Please see the entry page for more information.
  7. Additional material can accompany the entry should the student(s) and/or teacher feel it will enhance their submission.
  8. Entries will only be accepted once all compulsory competition requirements have been included.
  9. The closing date for the competition is 23:59 on Wednesday 30 April 2025.
  10. No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost or delayed in the post or incorrectly uploaded. Proof of posting will not be accepted as proof of delivery.
  11. The panel of judges will include at least one member who is independent of the promoter. The decision of the judges is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.
  12. The first prize will be awarded to the entry deemed by the judges to have met the judging criteria most comprehensively. This student or group of students will be announced as the ‘national winner’.
  13. Seven regional winners will be selected, with one regional winner being chosen as the overall national winner. One regional winner will be chosen from each of the following regions: East of England, London, Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West, South East (excluding London) and South West.
  14. The student or group of up to four students submitting the national winning entry will receive a prize for their school, offered the opportunity to see their entry displayed in public and each receive a goody bag, an Amazon voucher to the value of £50 and a framed certificate.
  15. The student selected as regional winners will each receive a goody bag, a certificate and an Amazon voucher to the value of £25.
  16. Highly commended certificates and best school entry certificates are awarded per entry, not per student.
  17. Digital certificates will be sent to the teachers for students who were not selected as national or regional winners or as highly commended.
  18. There is no cash alternative for any prize in this competition.
  19. We will aim to notify winning schools in writing in June 2025.
  20. Entries will not be returned to school at the end of the competition.
  21. Winners will be listed on the NHS Health Careers website and the Step into the NHS online gallery in July 2025.
  22. NHS England reserves the right to reproduce and utilise in whole or in part the entries submitted by students for information, publicity and promotional purposes. This includes entries being displayed in an online gallery page on the Step into the NHS website. By entering, each class agrees to secure parental agreement and authorises the use of names and addresses of the establishment to which it belongs and the names of participating teachers and students in any information, publicity or promotional activity linked to this competition.
  23. Entering this competition implies full and complete acceptance of these terms and conditions of which entry instructions form a part. Promoter: NHS England. Registered address: NHS England, Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8UG. (Please DO NOT send entries to this address. Thank you.)
Extra resources

Explore these resources with students to raise career aspirations further. Includes a student briefing sheet, employee portraits activity and glossary.

Download now
Supporting resources

These resources differentiate the learning for all students and help you judge and celebrate their entries as a class, should you wish. They contain a guide for families, a differentiation grid, a judging score sheet and a certificate of participation.

Download now