There is no shortage of film competitions. However, these generally have a strict theme, promotion of a corporate brand, run for profit or have wide entry categories which favour professionals. Entry ivaries per category (Junior, Senior and Short) contributing towards the prize money and gala dinner. Other running costs of the competition are met by Mill Hill School. The eventual goal is to fund the prize pool through sponsorship and donations.

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The idea of the London Schools' Film Competition is a not-for-profit, fair and balanced film competition run by Mill Hill School for schools or sixth-form colleges in London and the home counties. All schools and colleges catering to school years 8 through 13 (ages 12-19) are invited to participate. We do not preclude other UK schools from entry but the difficulty in attending London for the awards evening may present a challenge.

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The Junior category covers school years 8-10 and Senior covers years 11-13. The Short Film category is for any age (12-19).

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The competition entry window spans academic years, so as long as a pupil falls within the age range of a given category in the calendar year of the competition, they are eligible.  So, if a pupil was in year 10 in April 2022, they could enter into the Junior category and/or Senior competition as they will be in Year 11 from September.  The strict rule comes from Senior entries being allowed to submit films up to a 15 age classification rating and ensuring that nobody under 15 watches these in a supervised setting.

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The vision is clear; we want filmmaking to be a fun experience with few barriers to entry.  The competition can be entered by schools with access to nothing but a phone camera to more professional equipment - and both should stand an equal chance of winning!