10,000+

students will compete together

Encouraging 

students to continue studying the biosciences beyond school

BENEFICIAL

for applying science majors in top universities

opportunity

to attend top science programs

You Be The Chemist Challenge®

INTRODUCTION

The British Biology Olympiad (BBO) is organized by the British Biology Olympiad Committee (UKBC) and is officially supported by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB).

The British Biology Olympiad Committee (UKBC) registered as a charity in England and Wales number 1191037 in 2020, after operating as independent group for 26 years with extensive experience in writing biology exams for all ages of secondary school students. Every year, they deliver 3 high quality exams for over 60,000 students.

The British Biology Olympiad was created in 1995, stimulating students with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents. It is one of the largest science competitions in the UK with more than 7,200 high school students participating in 2016. Each year an outstanding team of high school students is then selected to represent the UK in the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). It enables students to demonstrate their knowledge and to be suitably rewarded and publicly recognized through the award of medals, certificates and other prizes.

It is hoped that by competing in this Olympiad, students who are already interested in this valuable, wide-ranging and rewarding subject will be encouraged to continue their studies beyond A-level.

Advancement system

Rules

Language: English

Date: Jan 18th 2026

Format: Individual written test (no experiment)

Participants: Highschool students (Grade 10-12/Year 11-12)

Categories:

  • 25% Animal Anatomy and Physiology
  • 20% Cell Biology
  • 15% Genetics and Evolution
  • 15% Plant Anatomy and Physiology
  • 15% Ecology
  • 5% Ethology
  • 5% Biosystematics

Form: Online

Contest questions: Multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes

Award

Global awards:

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Bronze
  • Highly Commended
  • Commended

(For judging the global awards, British competitors will be ranked first by their overall scores creating boundaries for the gold, silver and bronze awards. Participants from other countries are not ranked together with their British competitors, but are compared by boundary. International participants with good results will therefore have an increased chance of receiving an award.)


BBO Camp

Language: English

Date: August 2026

Location: Beijing, China (TBD)

Eligibility: Gold Award winners in BBO

Availble slots: 60 Students (limited registration, closed when full)

registration form

Includes the exam, grading, proctor fee, past-papers, certificates. 

registration deadline

2 weeks before the competition