Explore student competitions.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Expert, This invitation-only three-hour astrophysics paper is the final written competition stage before the Oxford training and UK-team selection camp. Entry is limited to eligible top performers from Astro Round 1 or students invited to BPhO Round 2, and schools supervise the sitting. The main challenge is solving sustained, near-international-level astrophysics problems that demand high-level mathematical physics, specialist preparation and careful explanation.

QUICK SUMMARY

An England, Wales and Northern Ireland mock trial competition where students take courtroom roles and argue a specially written criminal case. Open to students aged 12–14 from non-fee-paying schools. Rated Advanced Level, with difficulty mainly coming from understanding legal procedure, preparing arguments, teamwork and confident courtroom performance.

QUICK SUMMARY

An Ireland-based robotics and STEM competition where teams design and program a LEGO robot, complete missions and develop an innovation project around a real-world theme. Open to students aged 11–16 in teams with an adult coach. Rated Advanced Level, with difficulty mainly coming from robot design, programming, engineering strategy, teamwork and project presentation.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, Students work in small teams to design a plausible fire-resilient city and communicate the result through writing, digital modelling, and a live defence. The high-school programme uses an adult-coached team route and a United States national-final structure. The work spans research, engineering trade-offs, Revit modelling, sustained teamwork, and concise presentation under questioning.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, This invitation-only national olympiad requires complete proofs for six problems across two examination days near the top of the MAA pathway. Entrants qualify through AMC and AIME; detailed 2027 invitation criteria are still pending. Success requires rigorous, original arguments across algebra, combinatorics, geometry and number theory over nine hours of examination time.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Expert, This invitation-only national olympiad requires complete proofs for six problems and feeds the U.S. international mathematics team pathway. Entrants qualify through AMC and AIME; detailed 2027 invitation criteria are still pending. Success requires rigorous, original arguments across algebra, combinatorics, geometry and number theory over nine hours of examination time.

QUICK SUMMARY

Difficulty varies by division from Intermediate to Advanced, Purple Comet! Math Meet is a free international online team mathematics competition with middle- and high-school contests. Teams of one to six students participate under an adult supervisor, with competitive age and school-stage limits and an unrestricted non-competitive option. The main challenge is coordinating under time pressure to solve a set of problems that range from accessible questions to extremely demanding ones.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Intermediate, This school-run physics quiz uses two short online papers covering core topics, practical awareness and everyday physical reasoning. It is aimed mainly at UK Year 10 students, with Year 9 and Year 11 also allowed, and entries are organised and supervised by teachers. The main challenge is answering a broad mix of unfamiliar multiple-choice questions accurately under two timed sessions.

QUICK SUMMARY

A UK physics competition where younger secondary students solve accessible physics problems designed to develop scientific reasoning and problem-solving skills. Open mainly to students in Years 7–8 through participating schools. Rated Intermediate Level, with difficulty mainly coming from applying basic physics ideas in unfamiliar contexts and reasoning beyond routine classroom questions.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, A U.S. school-team quiz competition covering science, energy and mathematics. Middle- and high-school teams register through an approved coach for the regional assigned to their school. Success requires broad subject coverage, rapid recall, precise team coordination and sustained preparation for a regional-to-national pathway.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, A US school-team STEM tournament system combining scientific knowledge, laboratory work, engineering builds and collaborative problem solving. Division B and C teams enter through registered schools and state programmes, with advancement from regional or state competition to Nationals. The main challenge is coordinating a fifteen-student team across a wide event slate while developing both specialist depth and dependable teamwork.

QUICK SUMMARY

Difficulty varies by division from Intermediate to Advanced, A team-based computer science league with four online contests, five divisions and an invitational online Finals. Students in grades 3-12 enter through a registered school, organization or local group, with an advisor selecting the division. Upper divisions combine computer science questions with programming; Classroom and Elementary are non-programming. Consistent performance across the season is the main challenge.