If your students are looking to take part in something that will give them valuable learning experiences and something impressive to put on their Personal Statement, then you should introduce them to the world of academic competitions, particularly those run by Oxford and Cambridge.
Oxbridge applicants need to find ways to make themselves stand out from their competition, whether it’s through work experience, volunteering or research projects. However, one option that many applicants won’t be aware of is to apply for and take part in an academic competition.
The benefits of taking part in these competitions are numerous even without winning, so this guide will show you some of the best competitions that you can recommend to your cohort. First, let’s take some time to discuss what these competitions are and why applicants should take part in them.
What Are Academic Competitions?
Academic competitions are events or contests that assess participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in specific academic subjects or disciplines. These competitions often involve challenging tests, projects, presentations, or debates that require participants to demonstrate their understanding, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills within a particular academic field.
Academic competitions are organised at all levels, including local, regional, national, and even international levels. Generally speaking, there are competitions that cover a wide range of subjects, such as mathematics, science, literature, history, social sciences, computer science, and more. These competitions aim to promote academic excellence, foster intellectual curiosity, and provide opportunities for students to showcase their talents and achievements in their respective fields of study.
What Types of Academic Competitions are there?
Across the world, these are some of the most popular types of academic competitions that students can take part in:
STEM Academic Competition Types
Math Competitions: Math competitions assess participants’ problem-solving skills, mathematical reasoning, and ability to apply concepts in challenging scenarios. Examples include the Mathematical Olympiad, MathCounts, and the International Mathematical Modeling Challenge.
Science Olympiads: Science Olympiads focus on different branches of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, or environmental science. Participants may have to solve complex problems, conduct experiments, or demonstrate practical knowledge in these fields.
Robotics and Engineering Competitions: These competitions focus on designing, building, and programming robots using a variety of materials to complete specific tasks or challenges. Examples include FIRST Robotics Competition, VEX Robotics Competition and the International RoboCup.
Humanities Academic Competition Types
Model United Nations: Model United Nations (MUN) simulations involve participants representing countries or delegates in mock United Nations assemblies. They discuss and debate global issues, develop diplomatic skills, and engage in public speaking.
Language Competitions: Language competitions test participants’ proficiency in languages, such as spelling bees, vocabulary challenges, translation contests, or language proficiency exams like the DELE (Spanish) or DELF (French).
General Academic Competition Types
Quiz Bowls: These competitions involve teams or individuals answering questions in a fast-paced quiz format. They cover a wide range of subjects, including general knowledge, science, history, literature, and more. These will often be formatted into multiple rounds.
Writing and Debating Contests: These competitions evaluate participants’ abilities in written composition, persuasive speaking, and critical thinking. They often involve essay writing, speech competitions, or debates on specific topics.
Academic Decathlons: Academic Decathlons are multi-disciplinary competitions that cover a wide range of subjects, including math, science, literature, social sciences, art, and music. Participants compete individually or as part of a team in written exams, speeches, interviews, and other activities.
Some of these competition types aren’t always that common to find in the UK, so here are some of the most well-known competition types that your students can take part in:
UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Challenges: The UKMT organizes a range of mathematics challenges for different age groups, including the Junior Mathematical Challenge, Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, Senior Mathematical Challenge, and the British Mathematical Olympiad.
British Physics Olympiad: The British Physics Olympiad offers challenging physics competitions for students at different levels, such as the Physics Challenge, AS Challenge, A2 Challenge, and the British Physics Olympiad papers.
Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad: The Royal Society of Chemistry organizes the Chemistry Olympiad, which challenges students’ chemistry knowledge and problem-solving skills through a series of challenging exams.
Royal Society of Biology Olympiad: The Royal Society of Biology conducts an annual Olympiad to assess students’ biology knowledge and understanding at different levels, including the British Biology Olympiad and Biology Challenge.
National Science and Engineering Competition: Organized by the British Science Association, this competition invites students to present their science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) projects for a chance to showcase their creativity and innovation.
National Schools’ Debating Competitions: These competitions focus on debating skills and critical thinking. Examples include the English-Speaking Union (ESU) Schools Mace, Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition, and the Cambridge Union Schools’ Competition.
UK Linguistics Olympiad: The UK Linguistics Olympiad offers competitions that test participants’ analytical and problem-solving skills in languages and linguistics.
Young Writers’ Competitions: Various organizations and publications in the UK host writing competitions for young writers, such as the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award.
Of course, these are all competitions held on a national level by large organisations. Be sure to keep an eye out for competitions at a local level as these will be easier for your students to take part in while still offering the benefits of taking part. Speaking of which, why should your applicants apply for these competitions? Let’s find out.
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Why Should Students Take Part In Academic Competitions?
As a teacher, you most likely already understand why students should be taking part in these competitions. However, they require a lot of time and effort and can often involve travel and other expenses. To a student, it may not seem worth it to do all this when they could spend their time studying for exams or taking part in volunteering and work placements for their personal development.
These competitions aren’t for everyone but they should appeal to Oxbridge applicants. If they wish to attend Oxford or Cambridge, your students need to be motivated, inquisitive and have the desire to seek out opportunities and immerse themselves in their subject. Academic competitions are a great way to not only satisfy those traits but also impress the Oxbridge admissions tutors in the process. These are some of the top reasons for competing that your students should be aware of:
Application Advantages
The first and most obvious reason is the boost that the average application will receive when a student takes part in a competition. As we already mentioned, taking part in an academic competition is hard work, before even considering that most competitors will be doing this alongside their regular studies and potentially their university applications.
A student who can follow through and complete a competition will have already shown a great deal of commitment to their subject on top of academic and time management skills. All of this will have already shown the admissions tutors at Oxbridge that the student is highly talented and has a genuine drive to study their subject.
All of this is true no matter whether the student wins or not. Winning is obviously an even greater accolade to add to their resume, but simply entering a competition will provide a much-needed boost to their Personal Statement and interview discussion points.
Extra Learning Experiences
Going into these competitions, a student isn’t going to know everything that comes up in the questions or everything that is required to complete a task. Therefore, they are going to learn plenty of new things when they take part.
Whether it’s learning from error, researching issues that they had no prior knowledge of or discovering things from other contestants, they are sure to learn at least one interesting fact or new skill that will help them in their Oxbridge application.
Developing Teamwork Skills
Many competitions will see groups of contestants compete together rather than individually, so this is the perfect chance for your students to improve their camaraderie and teamwork skills. Sometimes contestants will need to apply as a team while other competitions will group contestants at random on the day.
Either way, your students will be able to learn valuable skills such as verbal reasoning, group ideation, management, compromising and more. As some students may already have a lot of experience in group work through sports and other activities, this will be their chance to practice those skills in a high-pressure academic environment.
Confidence Building
For students who are unsure of their skills or feel they aren’t good enough to attend Oxbridge, an academic competition may be exactly what they need to show themselves that they have the capabilities to succeed.
Of course, this does depend on whether the student actually does have the necessary skills to be competitive, but you should be able to determine this as their teacher and advise them towards taking part in a competition should you feel it will help.
Even if the student doesn’t win, being able to submit a high-quality piece of work or hold their own in a debate should be proof that they are more than capable of attending their desired course.
High-Level Academic Experience
Most of your students will have not experienced academia at a higher level than their classes, which is a far cry from what they will experience at Oxbridge. While academic competitions aren’t a one-to-one simulation of the Oxbridge learning environment, students will still be able to experience the competitiveness and intellectual inspiration of being among other academics.
Many competitions are a place to experiment with new ideas while learning from others, exactly as students are expected to act when studying at Oxford and Cambridge. While this may come naturally to some, others may have difficulty adjusting so attending a competition will give them the experience they need to be prepared for Oxbridge.
Winning Prizes
Of course, the overall goal of a competition is to win. Other than the acclaim and title of doing so, winners may also be able to win a variety of prizes that could have a massive impact on their life going forwards. Some examples include:
- Awards (Trophies, Certificates, etc)
- Cash Prizes
- Scholarships and Bursaries
- Internships Opportunities
- Publication Opportunities
- Equipment and Resources
So, if any of these perks seem appealing to your students then they should definitely consider taking part in an academic competition. As we are speaking about Oxbridge applicants, let’s take a look at what competitions are run by Oxford and Cambridge.
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Oxbridge Academic Competitions
Oxford and Cambridge both host a wide variety of academic competitions, although they aren’t typically run by the universities as a whole. Instead, they are run by specific colleges, meaning many of the competitions are smaller scale. While this isn’t a comprehensive list of all Oxbridge competitions, we have selected some of the most well-known competitions that are aimed at Sixth Form students (and equivalents). Let’s start with the University of Oxford:
Oxford Academic Competitions
Oxford has a page available that is regularly updated with upcoming competitions, so be sure to check there to see what options your students have to enter. Here are some of the competitions that Oxford currently hold for students:
The Lloyd Davies Philosophy Prize
College:
- Oriel
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- Spring
Age Range:
- Year 12
The Lloyd Davies Philosophy Prize is an essay writing competition described as an opportunity for students to “write about a subject they are interested in” within the subject of philosophy. Students’ works are assessed by the following criteria:
- Originality of thought
- An accurate understanding of the issues
- Clarity of structure and expression
- And a critical approach to what has been read
The word limit for this essay is 2,500 and all submissions need to be sent digitally to [email protected]. Prizes available include £250 for the winner and £150 for the runner up.
Theology Essay Competition
College:
- Kebel
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 9th June (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/13
In the Theology Essay Competition, applicants must answer one of five questions relating to Theology. Answers are written as essays, with a maximum length of 1,500 words. It is stated that applicants must answer these questions individually and schools should submit no more than three essays.
The essays are marked by a panel of theologians who are looking for “carefully researched, well-structured and well-presented” that also demonstrate verbal reasoning and critical awareness. The prize for the best essay is £300, with smaller prizes sometimes given to runner-ups.
The Oxford Scientist Schools’ Science Writing Competition
College:
- NA
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- TBA
Age Range:
- Year 10/13
In this Science Writing Competition, run by the University of Oxford’s independent science magazine, students must write an essay based on a prompt relating to science. Previous questions have been fairly topical, tackling topics like COVID-19 and climate change, so your students should be sure to keep an eye on current trends in science if they wish to enter this competition.
The essay must not exceed 700 words and the judges will be looking for quality in “topic, relevance, writing style and grammar, interest to a general audience, and factual accuracy”. Prizes for the winning essay change from year-to-year.
The University of Oxford is less prolific when it comes to its annual competitions, although it does still run a wide variety of one-off competitions throughout the year. Be sure to check their website regularly to stay up to date on the current competitions that are underway.
The University of Cambridge holds a lot more annual competitions, many of which are handled by Trinity College, so let’s take a look at some of them:
Cambridge Academic Competitions
Gould Prize for Essays in English Literature
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 1st August (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
The Gould Prize was established in 2013 and sees applicants answer one of several questions. These questions can vary from analysis of passages to general statements to discuss. It is said that the award was created to increase students’ interest in reading, recognise achievements in writing and encourage students to apply for English at Cambridge.
Essays can be between 1,500 and 2,500 words long and must be submitted via the entry form on the Trinity College website. The winner receives £600 while second place gets £400 although these cash prizes are split between the student and their school.
Languages and Cultures Essay Prize
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 1st August (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
The Languages and Cultures Essay Prize sees students write an essay based on one of a series of topics relating to cultural and language-based topics. The prompts given to students include:
“It is difficult to craft a form of protest using words that have been appropriated by power.” Discuss.
“It is easier to control the power and message of images than of words.” Discuss.
“Language is a more powerful indicator and agent of inclusion and/or exclusion than any image.” Discuss.
The essay must be a maximum of 3,000 words and should be submitted via an online application form. The top prize is £600 to be split between the student and their school, while 2nd place wins £400 with the same stipulation.
Linguistics Essay Prize
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 1st August (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
Contestants of the Linguistics Essay Prize must write a 3,000-word essay discussing a prompt given by the college. There is only one prompt so applicants cannot choose what they answer. In 2023, the prompt is as follows:
“What are the implications for fairness or bias when an Artificial Intelligence system learns about language from online resources? Discuss with relevance to how language can be influenced by social variables such as age, race, gender, and social hierarchies.”
The college states that the competition is suitable for applicants from a wide variety of subjects, from Linguistics to Classics to Mathematics. Essays must be submitted via an online form on the college website, were students will also find a collection of free resources to help the research the topic of the essay. The prizes for this competition are £600 for 1st place and £400 for 2nd place, each split equally between the contestant and school.
Philosophy Essay Prize
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 31st May (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
The Philosophy Essay Prize was created to encourage Sixth Formers to engage their interest in Philosophy in a way that will benefit their applications. Contestants must submit an essay discussing one of two prompts:
“There is progress in science. Is there progress in philosophy, and is the field only successful if there is?”
“Can we love someone more than ourselves, and what does this imply about the human condition?”
Essays should be 2,000 words or less and should be submitted to the college via the online application form. The winner receives £600 to split equally between themselves and the school, while the runner-up receives £400 to also be split.
R.A. Butler Prize
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 1st August (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
The R.A. Butler Prize is an essay competition for those with an interest in Politics and International Studies. Contestants will write an essay that answers one of various questions provided by the organisers, where they will be expected to provide references in their work and “use a diverse selection of contemporary, historical or literary examples”.
The essay should not exceed 3,000 words and needs to be submitted using an online application form. The top prize is £600, which will be shared between the student and their school. The second-place winner receives £400 under the same conditions.
Robert Walker Prize for Essays in Law
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 11th April (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
As the name suggests, the Robert Walker Prize for Essays in Law is aimed at students interested in Law. The award is named after Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe and was created to encourage students to explore their interests in Law and apply to study Law and Cambridge. Essays are judged by the “development of argument, the quality of expression and the appropriate use of supporting facts and material”.
The essay must be no longer than 2,000 words and should be submitted on the college website via an application form. There are winners in two divisions, UK and International, who each receive £300 for first place and £200 for runner-ups. As well as this, the top 10 writers from each division will be “invited to a Prize Ceremony at Trinity to see the College and to meet the Law Fellows”.
Robson History Prize
College:
- Trinity
Competition Type
- Essay
Competition Date:
- 1st August (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12/Lower Sixth
Like other Trinity College competitions, the Robson History Prize was created as a way to encourage students with an interest in History to interact with the subject and apply to study at Cambridge. Contestants must submit a 3,000-word essay answering one of over 60 available questions covering a wide variety of topics. Questions in 2023 include:
“Why did divorce rise so dramatically over the course of the twentieth century in Britain?”
“Does the American constitution owe more to the ideas of whigs or of royalists?”
“What role did seventeenth-century natural philosophers regard experimentation as playing in natural science? Discuss with reference to one or more of Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, and Isaac Newton.”
“Why, and how effectively, did the Roman authorities persecute Christians?”
Essays should include all references within the bibliography and must be submitted via the online application form found on the website. The top prize is £600 to split between the student and their school while 2nd place receives £400 to split as well.
Fitzwilliam College Architecture Design Competition
College:
- Fitzwilliam
Competition Type
- Design
Competition Date:
- 1st March (Deadline)
Age Range:
- Year 12
The Fitzwilliam College Architecture Design Competition is an annual competition for those interested in architecture. This is a design task that sees applicants aim to design a new building and present a full project including a title, design narrative and various sketches. In 2023, the task was to design a building within Fitzwilliam College that would act as a place for students and teachers to interact. Applicants must register to take part in this competition before submitting work via [email protected].
Registered contestants are typically invited to campus in February for a guided tour of the college campus to provide visual inspiration for their designs. Submissions are then due at the beginning of March. The top prizes are £300 and £200 as well as £25 book vouchers to commended applicants.
Girton College Humanities Writing Competition
College:
- Girton
Competition Type
- Writing
Competition Date:
- TBA
Age Range:
- Year 12
The Girton College Humanities Writing Competition isn’t strictly an essay competition but is rather a general writing competition. Contestants are required to write a piece focusing on one or more items from the Lawrence Room Museum. It is stated that this can be written in multiple formats, be it an essay, a short story or a monologue.
The top prize is £200 and up to £200 worth of Cambridge Press books which will be shared out between the winner and their school.
As we said, this list only scratches the surface of the competition available at Oxbridge. As well as even more annual competitions, you will also find a wide variety of one-off competitions held throughout the year. We would recommend additional research with your students to find competitors for various colleges that relate to their subject of interest.
If you want to learn more about what you, as a teacher should know about the university admissions process for Oxford and Cambridge, be sure to explore our Teacher’s Hub today for guides covering every step of your student’s application. Alternatively, you can find out how UniAdmissions can provide you with the ultimate preparation programme for your Oxbridge applicants through our unique and comprehensive formula.
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