- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$125 to $175
Good first competitions
Competitions rated open to beginners or needing only some preparation. Start here if you have never entered anything before.
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Math
AMC 8
A 40-minute, 25-question exam for middle schoolers and the natural first step into contest maths.
Check site
- Grades1 to 8
- CostFree to $30
RecommendedGrades 6 to 8
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Coding
Bebras Challenge
A short online computational thinking challenge with no programming required, from age 8 upward.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostUp to $5
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Business
Blue Ocean Competition
A fully online entrepreneurship pitch competition with no written business plan required.
Business
Business Professionals of America
Competitive events in business, IT, digital media and management, with a strong technical event list.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$20 to $1,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Civics and social science
C-SPAN StudentCam
Make a short documentary on a national policy question, free, with a large cash prize pool.
83 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Math
CEMC Contests
Canada's national contest ladder, from grade 7 puzzles to the Canadian Computing Olympiad.
133 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostUp to $20
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Coding
Congressional App Challenge
Build an app, compete only against students in your own congressional district, and win a display in the U.S. Capitol.
Art and design
Congressional Art Competition
One winner per congressional district, with the winning artwork hung in the United States Capitol for a year.
Coding
CyberStart America
A free, game-based cybersecurity challenge with scholarships attached, open to US high school students.
Engineering
Destination Imagination
Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
47 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$165 to $5,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Art and design
Doodle for Google
Redesign the Google logo around an annual theme, with a scholarship and a day on the homepage at stake.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Engineering
eCYBERMISSION
Solve a problem in your own community using science or engineering, entirely online, for free.
Engineering
ExploraVision
Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.
Check site
- Grades6 to 9
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
168 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Business
FBLA
More than seventy competitive events in business, technology and finance, competed through a school chapter.
140 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$20 to $600
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Robotics
FIRST LEGO League
The entry point to competitive robotics, starting at age four and running through middle school.
Check site
- Grades1 to 8
- Cost$100 to $1,200
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Robotics
FIRST Tech Challenge
A smaller, cheaper robotics league with the same season structure as FRC and a far lower barrier to entry.
Engineering
Future City
Design a city a century from now, in simulation, in an essay, and as a physical model built from recycled materials.
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- Cost$300 to $3,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$25 to $25
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Business
Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
A twelve-hour online startup sprint: the problem is revealed on the day and you pitch by the end of it.
Science
HOSA
Over sixty competitive events across clinical skills, health knowledge and leadership, from middle school upward.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostNot confirmed
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$20 to $1,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Academic
International Geography Bee
A buzzer geography competition with online qualifying, filling the gap left by the discontinued National Geographic Bee.
82 days left
- Grades3 to 12
- Cost$10 to $500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth
Engineering
Invention Convention
Invent something that solves a real problem, document the process, and pitch it like an inventor.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree to $100
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Business
InvestWrite
A free national essay competition on investing, judged on reasoning rather than returns.
Check site
- Grades4 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Writing
JEA Write-off Competitions
On-site journalism contests held at national conventions across news, feature, sports, design and photojournalism.
Engineering
Junior Solar Sprint
Design and race a solar-powered model car, free, for middle school teams.
Math
Math Kangaroo
A friendly international puzzle contest that starts in grade 1.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$10 to $30
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
172 days left
- Grades4 to 8
- CostFree to $150
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$21 to $30
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Math
MATHCOUNTS
The national middle school math league, from your classroom to a televised countdown round.
Debate and speech
Model United Nations
Represent a country in simulated UN committees, negotiate resolutions, and compete for awards at hundreds of conferences.
Math
MOEMS
Five short contests across the school year, designed as a first taste of olympiad problem solving from grade 4.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- Cost$42 to $80
- FormatEither
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$25 to $1,500
- FormatEither
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades4 to 8
- CostNot confirmed
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Academic
NACLO
Solve puzzles in languages you have never seen, with no prior linguistics knowledge required.
Coding
NASEF Scholastic Esports
School-based esports leagues paired with a curriculum in production, broadcasting, analysis and game design.
Civics and social science
National Civics Bee
Write a short essay about a problem in your community, then defend it in a live civics quiz.
Academic
National History Bee and Bowl
Buzzer competition in history, run as both an individual bee and a team bowl, with online qualifying.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
146 days left
- Grades2 to 12
- Cost$10 to $800
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereBoth
Academic
National History Day
Original historical research presented as a paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or website.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $150
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Academic
National Latin Exam
A single low-cost exam sat at school, with medals and a very high award rate for prepared students.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostUp to $10
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Business
National Personal Finance Challenge
A team competition on earning, spending, saving, investing and managing credit, free to enter.
Writing
New York Times Student Editorial Contest
Write a 450-word evidence-based opinion piece on anything you care about, judged by Times editors.
Writing
NYT Student Podcast Contest
Make a five-minute podcast on any subject, free, judged by New York Times editors.
Writing
Ocean Awareness Contest
A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.
142 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Engineering
Odyssey of the Mind
Teams solve a long-term creative problem over months, then face a spontaneous problem they have never seen.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$290 to $400
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Writing
Patriot's Pen
A short patriotic essay contest for middle school students, free, with national awards.
Science
PhysicsBowl
A 40-question, 45-minute physics exam sat at school, with divisions matched to how much physics you have taken.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostUp to $20
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Coding
picoCTF
A free capture-the-flag cybersecurity competition designed specifically for students with no security background.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationComfort with a command line and basic scripting
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Art and design
Poetry Out Loud
Memorise and perform published poems, from a classroom contest all the way to a national final in Washington.
Math
Purple Comet! Math Meet
A free, online, team-based maths contest open to any school or club in the world.
Check site
- Grades8 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
179 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Robotics
SeaPerch
Build an underwater robot from PVC pipe and motors for well under a hundred dollars, then race and manoeuvre it.
Coding
Technovation Girls
A free global season where girls aged 8 to 18 build an app or AI project and pitch it as a venture.
187 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$50 to $300
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades3 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Environment
The Earth Prize
A global environmental sustainability competition for teenagers, free to enter, with a substantial prize pool.
Engineering
The Paradigm Challenge
Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Business
The Stock Market Game
Manage a virtual $100,000 portfolio against other school teams over a full trading season.
Chess and strategy
US Chess Scholastic National Championships
National championships separated by grade, age and rating, so beginners are never paired against masters.
234 days left
- Grades4 to 12
- CostFree to $30
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$30 to $200
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Art and design
Vans Custom Culture
Design and paint shoes as a school art team, competing for a large grant for your school's art programme.
Robotics
VEX IQ Robotics Competition
A snap-together robotics league for elementary and middle school, with cooperative rather than head-to-head matches.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades3 to 8
- Cost$200 to $1,200
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Robotics
VEX Robotics Competition
The largest robotics competition in the world by team count, with tournaments running most weekends.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$300 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Civics and social science
Voice of Democracy
Record a three-minute audio essay on a patriotic theme and compete for scholarships from local post to national level.
Coding
WAICY
A project-based global AI competition with tracks for art and video as well as technical builds.
Robotics
World Robot Olympiad
An international robotics competition running in over eighty countries, with categories from age six upward.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades4 to 12
- CostFree to $100
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$50 to $2,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Debate and speech
World Scholar's Cup
A team academic competition combining debate, collaborative writing, a quiz bowl and a scholar's challenge, with rounds in dozens of countries.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$100 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereBoth
Writing
Write the World
Free monthly writing prompts with peer review and expert feedback built into the process.
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site