Rules and eligibility

General rules

1. entry to The Competition is free and open to students studying in UK

2. competitors can only enter one project into The Competition, either as an individual or as part of a team

3. entrants must be aged between 11 and 18 when the project is entered. They must also be in full-time state funded secondary education or home educated or be entering as part of a community group

4. young people who attend independent or private schools, independent colleges or independent sixth forms are not eligible to enter The Competition. They also aren’t eligible to showcase their project in The Big Bang Project Gallery. However, to support state-funded schools, joint entries can be submitted from teams with an equal number of independent school/partner state school students, via the state school entry. SEND Independent schools are eligible to enter

5. an entrant may take part in The Competition if they are aged 19 whilst in full-time state funded secondary education or training when the project is entered

6. projects will be entered into one of 3 categories according to the entrant(s)’s school year in the academic year 2025/26
   Junior category: England and Wales year 7 to 9, Northern Ireland year 8 to 10, Scotland S1 to S3
   Intermediate category: England and Wales year 10 to 11, Northern Ireland year 11 to 12, Scotland S4 to S5
   Senior category: England and Wales year 12 to 13, Northern Ireland year 13 to 14, Scotland S6

7. entry into The Competition is through the online entry only. Online entry will open in the Autumn term 2026

8. we will only consider projects that have been submitted into The Competition. Projects that have not been submitted will not be reviewed by judges

9. plagiarism is prohibited. The project entry must be the original work of the entrant(s) only

10. it is the responsibility of the entrant(s) to inform EngineeringUK of any change to their contact details. Failure to do so may result in the entrant not receiving notification of results or other correspondence

11. the judges’ decisions are final. No appeals will be heard or correspondence, relating to result determination, entered into

12. EngineeringUK reserves the right to revise these rules and regulations at any time. Should it be necessary to do so, The Competition organisers (EngineeringUK) will make every effort to communicate any changes to those parties as quickly as possible

13. there will be one winner in each age category (Junior, Intermediate, Senior) and an overall winner in each stream, Science, Engineering and Technology

14. runners-up may also be allocated within each age category and stream

15. there will be one winner for each special award. Special awards may have other rules or criteria which are different to the core Big Bang Competition awards. They will only be awarded where these criteria have been met

16. the winners will be announced at The Big Bang Competition Awards Ceremony at The Big Bang Fair

17. a full list of award winners will be published on The EUK Education website and in any other publications selected by the organisers

18. entrants should submit a written entry and/or a short video

19. video entries must be up to 5 minutes long. Judges will not review videos past the 5-minute mark

20. for written entries, entrants must keep to the following word count:

    project overview: 150 words
    project concept: 300 words
    project process: 400 words
    project outline: 400 words
    project ethics: 200 words
    next steps and reflections: 350 words

Project work conduct rules

21. all projects must demonstrate ethical consideration in their entry submission. This includes:

• considering the impact and wellbeing of subjects actively taking part in the project work. For example, humans who are taking part in surveys

• potential impacts of the completed project. For example long-term impacts of project outcomes on other people, communities, or the environment

22. EngineeringUK reserves the right to challenge any projects that may appear to cause substantial negative impacts on test subjects. This includes causing harm or unjustified discomfort to humans, animals, or the environment during the project process, for example, testing hazardous substances on insects. Projects must consider the wellbeing of test subjects in their project entry, and where possible, get consent from subjects before engaging in project activities

23. any projects involving interaction with humans or use of hazardous substances or devices must be in keeping with national health and safety guidelines. They must also be in keeping with guidelines of the entrant’s educational institution

Team-specific rules

24. projects can be completed by teams of any size

25. if not all team members can attend judging, then those who do attend must represent the whole team. They must tell the judges which area of the projects they focused on themselves

26. all team members must be eligible to enter The Competition even if all members are not able to attend judging or the Award Ceremony

27. if not all team members can attend the Award Ceremony for any reason, then the school or college has responsibility to appropriately allocate any awards

28. where teams have members spread across age categories, the entire team will be allocated based on the age category appropriate to the highest year group

Research and evaluation

By taking part in The Competition, competitors will be invited to participate in an evaluation.

Read our research and evaluation conditions

Intellectual property

Intellectual property of the entries remains the property of the entrant. By taking part in The Competition the competitor agrees to allow EngineeringUK to use their entry online:

• on public display

• in marketing

• in the media to promote The Competition, free of charge and with no time limit

The competitor also agrees to EngineeringUK sharing their entry with Competition judges as part of The Competition. Judges are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement before judging commences.

Data privacy

For information about how we handle your and the competitors information please read our privacy policy.

Read our privacy policy