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The award scheme will be open to all secondary schools throughout the 9 English development regions.  School teams will be made up of students from key stages 3 - 4 (11 - 16 year olds) and schools will be encouraged to create teams of mixed year groups.

Each school will register their intention participate on this website after April 2008.  They will then be sent a pack providing them with all they will require to host an internal school competition.  The challenge will be to redesign a part of their school grounds, which they have identified as in need of change.  This could include, for example, play areas, sports areas, break out spaces, seating, water features, outdoor classrooms, social spaces, parking and circulation.  Key to the designs will be the notion of an outdoor classroom or learning laboratory - a space that will facilitate learning, change and social interaction.  The schools will determine the winning design internally and then submit the winning design to their regional architecture centre.

When all designs have been received the regional architecture centre will convene a panel of judges to shortlist the top designs.  After the shortlisted schools have been selected they will be linked to a landscape architectural practice for professional support in developing their ideas/designs more fully.  Schools will also be encouraged to think more creatively and involve artists if possible in the design stage. The schools will then be invited to a regional event, where they will take part in an intensive day of workshops as well as presenting their designs. The overall winning design for the region will be chosen on  this day and will take the title of Regional Design Award. 

The Regional Design Award will be determined through presentations to an esteemed panel of judges and a cash prize of upto £100,000 will be made available to be spent on realising their winning design for the school grounds.  An equal cash prize will be awarded in each of the 9 regions.  It is important to note that  the  prize money will have conditions which ensure that the winning schools spend a proportion of the money on professional support to realise and procure their designs effectively.  

Following the conclusion of the regional competitions the resulting work will be assembled to form an exhibition.