Rules & Eligibility 2011-12
General rules
1. Entry to the competition is free and open to UK residents only.
2. Competitors can only enter the 2011-12 National Science & Engineering Competition once, either as an individual or as part of a team.
3. Entrants must be aged 11-18 inclusive on 31 August 2011.
4. Entrants must be in full time secondary level education (this includes secondary schools, pupils at secondary level in prep schools, colleges and home education) on 1 June 2011.
5. Entry projects must have been carried out/completed between 1 July 2010 and 31 October 2011.
6. Projects which have previously been entered into the National Science & Engineering Competition are not eligible for resubmission.
7. Individuals can only enter projects they carried out without team support.
8. Judging and prizes will be separated into three age categories according to the entrant's age (if most people in your year group at school or college are a year or more older or younger than you are, please contact us to discuss which age category you should go in: info@nationalsciencecompetition.org):
- Junior - Age 11-14 inclusive on 31 August 2011
- Intermediate - Age 15-16 inclusive on 31 August 2011
- Senior - Age 17-18 inclusive on 31 August 2011
9. Entry is via the Big Bang Regional Fairs in June and July 2011 or the online entry form (available between late July and 31 October 2011).
10. Entry forms must be completed with all relevant information; incomplete entry forms will not be accepted.
11. Plagiarism is prohibited. The project entry must be the original work of the entrant(s).
12. By entering the competition you agree that your entry can appear on public display. The organisers of the National Science & Engineering Competition and The Big Bang Fair may use the entry on the internet, on radio, on television and in print to promote the Competition.
13. By entering, entrants will be deemed to have agreed to be bound by these rules.
14. It is the responsibility of the entrant to inform the National Science & Engineering Competition of any change to their contact details. Failure to do so may result in the entrant not receiving notification of results or similar correspondence.
15. Subject experts, appointed by the National Science & Engineering Competition, will judge the entries at each stage. Judging results are subject to the approval of the National Science & Engineering Competition organisers.
16. The judges' decisions are final and no appeals will be heard or correspondence, relating to result determination, entered into.
17. The National Science & Engineering Competition reserves the right to revise these rules and regulations at any time. Should it be necessary to do so, the National Science & Engineering Competition organisers will make every effort to communicate any changes to interested parties as quickly as possible.
18. There will be one winner in each age category for the science/maths stream and for the engineering/technology stream. The winners in the senior category will be given the titles the "UK Young Scientist(s) of the Year" and the "UK Young Engineer(s) of the Year". Teams and individuals will not be judged separately or awarded prizes separately.
19. Further runners-up and highly commended prizes will also be allocated within each age category and stream.
20. Other prizes will also be available but some of the experience prizes have age restrictions and other rules which must be adhered to and will only be awarded where these criteria have been met.
21. The winners will be announced at The Big Bang National Awards Ceremony in March 2012.
22. A full list of prize winners will be published on the National Science & Engineering Competition website and in any other publications selected by the organisers.
Team-specific rules
1. Projects can be completed by teams of any size but no more than six team members can attend The Big Bang Fair or take part in the judging process. Travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will not automatically be covered but bursaries can be applied for to assist when necessary.
2. If a team gains a place at the finals of The Big Bang Fair and not all team members are able to attend, then those that do attend must represent the whole team but explicitly tell the judges which area of the projects they themselves focused on.
3. Team projects must be represented by at least two members of the team if they gain a place in the finals at The Big Bang Fair.
4. All team members must be eligible to enter the Competition (i.e. aged 11-18 on 31 August 2011 and UK residents) even if all members are not able to attend the finals at The Big Bang Fair.
5. Where teams have members spread across age categories, the entire team will be allocated to the category appropriate to the eldest member.
6. If not all team members are able to attend The Big Bang Fair for any reason, then it is up to the school or college to liaise with the team members and decide whether any cash or experience prizes are shared between the entire team or just those that represented the team at The Big Bang Fair.
7. Any teams that win a cash prize will receive a cheque made payable to the team’s school. It is expected that the school will then arrange distribution of the prize money to the team members.
Date Published: July 22, 2011