Grades 8–12 · Undergraduates
Learnacy is our interdisciplinary mentorship for curious learners in Grades 8–12 and undergraduates. A network of practitioner-mentors builds the arc around your child — guiding them through real research, original writing and the world’s most respected competitions, and growing the confidence and self-direction that outlast every exam.
Rolling admissions · We read every application ourselves · Need-based scholarships available
For parents
The years around school decide whether a child keeps learning for themselves — or stops when the marking does. Learnacy is built for the first.
Not a class of thirty. We map your child’s interests and gaps, then pair them with practitioner-mentors who design the journey around them.
The 5 C’s — critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, curiosity and communication — built through real projects, not memorised for a test.
Your child leaves with published white papers under their own name and the rigour to enter the world’s most respected competitions — proof they can show a university.
We read every application ourselves, admit on a rolling basis, and offer need-based scholarships. No pressure, and no false promises.
See it for yourself
Learners and families on what the mentorship changed — and more voices on the Learnacy page.
What it is
Learnacy is our mentorship program — the living practice of our founding philosophy, and it shares its name with the book by our founder because it is the same idea, put to work. A longer, interdisciplinary arc, it builds 21st-century skills, general awareness and leadership over time, designed to grow with the learner and connect the fundamentals of their education to the world they’re about to inherit.
A network of practitioners and specialists supports each participant’s goals.
Bind science, mathematics and social sciences to real current events.
Critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, curiosity and communication.
The arc
Designed around the learner — not a fixed timetable.
We map the learner’s interests and gaps and pair them with mentors — the arc is designed around them, not a fixed timetable.
Interdisciplinary sessions, real projects and original research build the 5 C’s and the habit of self-directed learning.
Learners turn the work outward — original white papers, and the rigour to take on international competitions like the John Locke Institute essay prize.
What we aim at
Mentorship isn’t abstract. We run our own competitions, and we help your child aim at the world’s most respected ones — choosing the right fit and preparing properly. The 🎯 tracks have a dedicated, step-by-step prep tool in our writing studio for mentorship students. Deadlines rotate yearly; a mentor plans the right cycle.
A case-study policy-making competition for high-school girls worldwide — free to enter, with cash prizes. Built to put young women’s voices into real policy.
Our competition Global Essay Challenge ↗ One Young India · launching soonOur global student essay competition — launching soon. Register your interest on the site to be first in line.
A ≤2,000-word argument on a set question — the flagship, and free to enter.
Deadline ~31 May → 🎯The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition Royal Commonwealth Society · under-18A ≤1,000-word essay — the world’s oldest schools’ writing prize, and open to Indian students.
Deadline ~30 Apr → 🎯NYT “Open Letters” Opinion Writing NYT Learning Network · ages 13–19A ≤500-word, evidence-backed opinion piece — published by The New York Times.
Window ~Feb–Apr → 🎯Marshall Society Essay Prize (Economics) University of Cambridge · pre-universityAn analytic economics essay to a Cambridge prompt — free, and globally respected.
Deadline ~30 Aug → Harvard International Review Writing Contest HIR · grades 7–12 · globalAn 800–1,200-word research-driven piece on world affairs.
Rolling · Aug & Jan →The journal that publishes school history research — a full 5,000–8,000-word paper.
Rolling · quarterly → National History Day Grades 6–12 · via affiliatesA 1,500–2,500-word historical research paper against a yearly theme.
Regionals ~Feb–Apr → Journal of Emerging Investigators Middle & high school · globalA peer-reviewed first publication of a real research manuscript.
Rolling submissions →Explain one big idea in science or maths in a ~2-minute film — script and all.
Deadline ~mid-Sep → 🎯Diamond Challenge Ages 14–18 · globalA 3–5-page venture concept — a business or a social innovation.
Submissions ~Jan → ASHG DNA Day Essay Grades 9–12 · globalA ≤750-word essay on a genetics question — free, and a lovely first science-writing win.
Deadline ~early Mar → Conrad Challenge Ages 13–18 · teamsA written innovation brief for a STEM venture, judged to a summit.
Stages Oct–Jan →A qualifying policy essay, then written debate rounds — research and argument together.
Qualifier ~Oct → 🎯Model G20 / Model UN position papers Our summits + globalResearch a country’s stance on a real issue and argue it — the writing behind the room.
Year-round · our summits → Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest Ages 11–18 · globalCreative writing or poetry on the ocean and climate — free.
Deadline ~Jun → Foyle Young Poets of the Year Ages 11–17 · globalThe leading international award for teenage poets — free to enter.
Deadline ~31 Jul →Based in India? Students also enter board and national contests — the CBSE Expression Series and CBSE–CVC Essay, Yuvamanthan Model G20, and the science pathways IRIS, INSPIRE-MANAK and the National Children’s Science Congress. Specific deadlines rotate each year; a mentor helps plan the right cycle. We help with entries that are genuinely your child’s own work — never written for them.
What your child leaves with
Apply
There’s no fixed cohort — we design the arc around the learner. Tell us a little about your child, and our team will be in touch to shape the right fit.
Questions
Learners in Grades 8–12 and undergraduates who want to keep growing beyond the syllabus.
It runs primarily online and as an ongoing, interdisciplinary journey guided by our mentor network — so a mentor’s guidance reaches your child wherever you are. Get in touch and we’ll design the right fit.
It flexes around school. The arc is built around your child’s pace — regular sessions with their mentor plus their own project time — without crowding out academics.
Original work under their own name — published white papers, and entries for respected competitions like the John Locke Institute essay prize. A real portfolio a university can see, not just a certificate.
Yes — we offer need-based support for eligible learners, and we read every application ourselves.
Mentors guide the work, but the achievements are genuinely your child’s. We don’t overpromise outcomes, and we never put a student’s name to work that isn’t their own.
