NEW DELHI: CBSE's Expression Series for 2026-27 will run at school level from 5 to 17 November 2026, followed by school uploads of shortlisted entries from 18 to 25 November. The competition covers Classes 3 to 12, with different writing formats by class group. Students participate through their schools, which select entries for onward submission.
The schedule comes from CBSE circular Acad-72/2026, dated 2 November 2026. Its theme is "Women Empowerment: Educate, Enable, Excel". The school activity period and the upload period are separate, so students should confirm their school's arrangements rather than treating 25 November as their classroom submission deadline.
| Class group | Prescribed format |
|---|---|
| Classes 3 to 5 | Paragraph of 150 words |
| Classes 6 to 8 | Essay of 400 words or poem |
| Classes 9 to 10 | Essay of 700 words or poem |
| Classes 11 to 12 | Essay of 1,000 words or poem |
What are the CBSE Expression Series 2026-27 dates?
Schools are asked to organise the activity during school hours between 5 and 17 November and inform students about it. After evaluating the work, a school can shortlist one entry from each class category, making four entries in total for submission to CBSE. Participation in the school activity therefore comes before selection for the board's portal.
The upload window runs from 18 to 25 November. This is the period for schools to send their selected work, not a general invitation for every pupil to upload independently. Families should ask the teacher responsible for the activity about the school timetable, preparation instructions and collection of entries.
The dates above are calendar dates in the circular. It does not give a closing time for the final upload day in the instructions reviewed. Schools should therefore plan their submission within the stated window without assuming that an unmentioned late-night cut-off applies.
Which topics and formats apply to each class?
For Classes 3 to 5, the paragraph topics concern girls' aspirations and influential women in a child's own life. Classes 6 to 8 can address the contribution of girls' education to national development, or women challenging stereotypes in science-related fields and sport. Students should use the exact topic wording in the circular when preparing the final heading.
Classes 9 to 10 have topics about women's leadership in governance and innovation, and the role of financial independence in empowerment. For Classes 11 to 12, the choices concern empowerment and a sustainable future, or the contribution of policies and social reform. The prescribed class categories should be checked before a student chooses a topic.
Work may be written in Hindi or English. The circular gives the word counts for paragraphs and essays shown in the table, while allowing poetry in the three older groups. It does not specify a separate poetry word limit in that table. A student choosing a poem should follow the school's instructions and avoid assuming that an essay length automatically becomes the poetry rule.
What must students put on the submission form?
Annexure I provides the submission format. It asks for the participant's name, class, gender, disability status, the school's full name and address, school contact number and an email address for the participant or parent, whichever applies. The instructions say all fields are mandatory.
Additional sheets can be attached, but the annexure requires the identifying details on all sheets. This is a useful check before handing in a longer essay: pages separated during handling should still be identifiable. Missing information on an extra sheet can affect evaluation under the stated instructions.
The board requires plagiarism checks. A shortlisted entry must also be certified by the institution head or teacher in charge for originality. Students should develop their own argument and expression rather than submit copied writing. The circular treats plagiarism as grounds for rejection, so polishing a borrowed piece does not resolve the underlying problem.
How will schools upload entries and download certificates?
Annexure II describes the school workflow. Schools begin at the CBSE Academic circulars page, follow the Expression Series portal link accompanying the circular and use their school LOC credentials. The manual then asks schools to enter the number of students who participated in each category at school level.
The next step is the student-details option in the side menu. A school can register at most one student per category and upload up to four images for each student. The manual lists JPG, BMP and GIF as accepted file types, with a maximum size of 2 MB for an image. These are entry-file instructions for schools, separate from the student's writing format.
For certificates, the manual directs schools to the certificate-viewing option, where the certificate is generated and then downloaded for registered students. The circular also says participation certificates follow successful portal submission. It should not be assumed that every pupil attending a classroom activity automatically receives a portal certificate without the relevant submission.
Each CBSE region will select ten leading entries in each category for national-level consideration. National winners receive an online merit certificate at their registered email address. Assessment considers originality, presentation, relevance and support for the ideas expressed. For further study support, see our guides to official NCERT PDFs, SWAYAM credit rules and NPTEL certificate requirements.
