In the UK National Curriculum Key Stage 3 is the lower end of Secondary or High School. So this represents young people aged approximately 11 - 14. We are aware that all schools will have different experiences and there is no expectation that a particular type of software will be used.
It would be expected that whatever software is used is able to export a widely accepted file format, so proprietary systems would not be accepted. A file would be expected to be able to be generated, including Scratch.
Online 2D animators that produce a file may be used in this age bracket, and 3D animation may be used as well, however, the student work that is created with a 3D animation may have substantial flaws. A clear narrative is a target. This may produce some difficulties, which is to be expected in this age bracket.
The competition is to build a 5-minute maximum animation around some key terms.
The submission will be 2 files. One is the animation and the other is a film explaining the STEAM problem-solving process that you went through. You need to show your understanding of the STEAM problem-solving phases, namely Analyse, Design, Build and Evaluate.
You can use the attached rubric to assist you.
Every student who wants to submit can.
The key terms identified for KS3 are
1) Character (https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths)
2) Future world (https://sdgs.un.org/goals)
3) Kindness