Real stuff to enter.
Olympiads, essay prizes, summer schools and internships — filtered by age and subject so you only see things you can actually do.
Subject
Your age
Goal tier
competition · April
UKMT Junior Maths Challenge
Multiple choice problem solving for Years 7-8. Gateway to Pink Kangaroo. Great early signal.
competition · February
UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge
Years 9-11. Top performers qualify for Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds. Strong supercurricular.
competition · October
UKMT Senior Maths Challenge + BMO
Sixth-form Maths. BMO1 (British Mathematical Olympiad) is genuinely Oxbridge-level.
competition · January
RSC Chemistry Olympiad
Run by the Royal Society of Chemistry. A gold/silver is brilliant for Chem/Medicine apps.
competition · November
British Physics Olympiad (BPhO)
Top tier Physics challenge. Strong signal for Engineering/Physics applications.
competition · April
Biology Olympiad
competition · March
BBO (British Biology Olympiad Challenges)
competition · June (submit)
John Locke Essay Competition
Essay prompts across History, Philosophy, Politics, Law, Economics, Theology. Even a shortlist is impressive.
competition · March
Newnham Cambridge Essay Prizes
Cambridge college essay prizes. Brilliant for Oxbridge humanities applications.
competition · June
Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition
World's oldest schools writing competition. Open to all secondary ages.
competition · August (submit)
Marshall Society Essay Prize (Cambridge)
internship · April (Easter)
Target Schools Spring Week (Investment Banks)
Spring insight weeks at JPM, Goldman, Morgan Stanley etc for Year 12. Apply Nov-Jan.
competition · Nov-March (rounds)
Bar Mock Trial Competition
Team-based mock courtroom competition by Young Citizens. Brilliant for Law applications.
competition · March
Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators
School translation competition in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin.
competition · January
British Informatics Olympiad (BIO)
UK's most prestigious computing competition. Top performers reach International Olympiad.
scholarship · Application: Jan
Engineering Education Scheme (EES) / Arkwright Scholarship
Arkwright is a Year 11 engineering scholarship. EES gives you a real industry project. Gold for Engineering apps.
internship · Summer (apply Jan)
Nuffield Research Placements
Year 12 STEM placements in real research labs across the UK. Means-tested bursary. Game-changing for science applicants.
internship · Summer (apply Jan-Feb)
Sutton Trust Summer Schools
Free week-long summer schools at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL etc — for state-school Year 12 students with grades.
internship · School holidays
Smallpeice Trust Engineering Courses
Residential STEM courses for ages 14-18. Hands-on engineering.
competition · Year-round
HE+ (Cambridge Outreach)
Cambridge's online extension materials. Use it for genuine super-curricular depth.