Age: students aged 13 to 18 in UK secondary education, at state or independent schools, sixth-form colleges or further education colleges.
Teams: students may enter alone or in a team of up to three. Every team member must attend the conference and take part in the viva.
Entries per school: there is no limit on how many students a school may enter. Places at the conference are limited and allocated by selection (see Selection and judging).
Entries per student: each student may enter one project only, either alone or as a member of one team.
Route: entries come through a school. A teacher registers the school and submits work on the students’ behalf.
No teacher available: home-educated students, or students whose school cannot support an entry, should email nsrcteam@gmail.com and we will arrange an individual route.
Entering
What counts as research
A project must address a clear question, problem or hypothesis through a systematic process of investigation, analysis or argument. It must reach conclusions based on the evidence or reasoning it produces.
The work must be substantially complete. The question, the investigation and the conclusions all need to be there. A final polish is not required, and presentation is not what is being judged.
Existing work is welcome. Work written for an EPQ, another competition, a school project or with a mentor or supervisor is eligible. The intellectual ownership must be genuinely the student’s, and they must be able to defend it in person. Work already published elsewhere, for example in a journal, is also eligible: say where in the declarations form. If another publisher holds the copyright, we may include only an abstract in the proceedings.
Not eligible:
a standard class exercise or practical write-up
an unfinished proposal or plan for research not yet carried out
a literature review that summarises existing sources without an original analytical contribution, method or argument
Entering
Subjects and categories
Research in any subject is welcome. When a teacher submits a project, they choose the category that fits it best:
Engineering, medicine, materials, environmental and computational work
Social sciences and humanities
History, economics, psychology, politics, philosophy, literature, languages
Cross-disciplinary and other
Work that sits between fields, or outside all of them
The category helps us match each project to examiners in its field. It does not affect how the work is judged, and we may move a project to a better-suited panel. Work is judged on academic rigour, not on where it files itself.
Entering
What to submit
Each entry is one PDF of the full paper plus one declarations form. There is no separate abstract or summary to write.
The paper
File type: PDF only.
Length: no more than 5,000 words, excluding references, appendices and figure captions. Appropriate length varies by field. A strong mathematics paper may be a fraction of that, and conciseness is never penalised.
Language: English.
Structure: any structure suited to the field. Most papers include a title, a short abstract, an introduction setting out the question, the method or approach, the findings or argument, a conclusion that discusses limitations, and references.
References: any consistent citation style.
Figures, tables and appendices: allowed. Appendices should hold supporting material only. Examiners are not required to read them.
File size: 20 MB maximum.
Anonymise the paper. Papers are judged blind, so examiners assess the work rather than the school. The PDF must not show:
the student’s name, or any team member’s name
the school’s name, logo or letterhead
the teacher’s or supervisor’s name
any link to a page that identifies the student or school
The portal records who wrote each paper, so nothing is lost by leaving names out. Anonymise acknowledgements as well, for example “my supervisor” rather than a name. Name the file with the project title only, for example “Urban heat islands in Leeds.pdf”.
sources, and confirmation that all quoted or borrowed material is referenced
research ethics, for projects involving people, animals, personal data or hazards
any use of AI tools
for teams, a statement of each member’s individual contribution
A teacher may replace an uploaded file at any time before the deadline. Once uploaded, the entry shows as submitted in the teacher portal. If anything looks wrong, email us before the deadline.
Rules
Academic integrity and AI policy
Submitted work must be the student’s own. Ideas, words, data and images taken from others must be referenced. Plagiarism, invented data or results, or work written by someone else lead to disqualification.
AI tools may be used, but every use must be declared. The test is simple: the question, the thinking, the analysis and the argument must be the student’s.
Generally acceptable, if declared
Not acceptable
Checking spelling, grammar and clarity of the student’s own writing
AI writing any part of the paper that is presented as the student’s own words
Help understanding a concept, method or source
AI generating the research question, argument, analysis or conclusions
Help finding literature, which the student then reads and cites
Citing sources the student has not read, or sources an AI invented
Help debugging or explaining code the student wrote
AI-generated data, results or figures presented as the student’s own
Translating a source for the student’s own understanding
Using AI to answer the examiners’ questions in advance
The declarations form asks for each AI tool used, what it was used for, and roughly how much. Declared, appropriate use will not count against a student. Undeclared use that comes to light will lead to disqualification.
The viva is the real test of ownership. Examiners may ask how any part of the work was done, including how AI was used. A student who cannot explain their own work will not score well, however good the paper.
How we use AI. To help examiners prepare and to keep judging consistent, submitted papers may be read by an AI tool before judging. It is used only to summarise papers and flag questions for examiners. It never scores, ranks or selects work: every assessment and decision is made by academic examiners. Papers are processed only for this purpose and are never used to train AI models. The privacy notice explains this in full.
Judging
Selection and judging
Every submission is read and assessed against the published rubric. The strongest are invited to the conference. Selection is on the quality of the work. We also take account of the balance of subjects and the capacity of our examiner panels.
Rubric: the paper and viva rubrics are published below, so students can see what is assessed before they finish their paper (see Judging rubric).
Blind review: papers are judged without names or schools. This is why they must be anonymised.
Age and stage: judges take each student’s age and stage of education into account when assessing the sophistication and independence of the work. A Year 9 student is not measured against a Year 13.
Places: about 60 projects are selected for the conference, and every member of a selected team attends. There is no limit on entries per school, but places are allocated on the quality of the work.
Results: teachers are emailed on Tuesday 10 November 2026 with the outcome for each entry and, for selected students, next steps for the day. Students who are not selected do not receive individual feedback.
Finalists: eight students or teams are chosen to present their research to the whole conference in the afternoon. They are chosen on the day, once the vivas finish: half the decision is the initial review of the paper and half is viva performance. Finalists are announced at 13:00, before the lunch break, so every student should come ready to give their presentation again.
The organisers’ decisions on selection and prizes are final.
Judging
Judging rubric
Papers are scored out of 100 against the paper rubric during blind review. Students at the conference are scored out of 100 in the viva. Finalists are chosen on the day: half the decision is the paper score and half is the viva score.
Paper rubric — /100
Category
Weight
What judges look for
Research question & motivation
15
The research question is precisely defined and appropriately delimited, and its significance is clearly articulated and justified.
Context & positioning
15
The work demonstrates familiarity with the relevant prior literature and locates its own contribution accurately within that body of work.
Methodology & rigour
25
The chosen methods are appropriate to the question, correctly applied, and logically sound; assumptions are made explicit and reasoning is internally consistent.
Results & analysis
20
Evidence is handled competently and interpreted with due caution; the conclusions drawn are properly supported by the analysis presented.
Originality & ambition
15
The work exhibits genuine novelty of question, approach, or insight, assessed relative to what may reasonably be expected of a school-age researcher.
Structure, clarity & presentation
10
The exposition, organisation, figures and tables, and referencing are of a standard that renders the argument clear and readily followed.
Total
100
Viva rubric — /100
Category
Weight
What judges look for
Depth of understanding
25
The candidate demonstrates a thorough command of each step, assumption, and result of the work, evidencing comprehension rather than mere execution.
Response to questioning
25
The candidate responds to probing and challenge with composure, reasoning effectively under pressure, defending sound positions and conceding untenable ones as appropriate.
Command of wider context
15
The candidate engages knowledgeably with matters beyond the paper — related concepts, alternative approaches, and broader implications — indicating that the work rests on secure understanding.
Critical reflection & limitations
15
The candidate identifies the limitations of the work, articulates what might be done differently, and proposes appropriate avenues for further enquiry.
Intellectual honesty
10
The candidate distinguishes clearly between what is and is not known, refrains from unfounded assertion, and appropriately acknowledges collaborators, sources, and assistance received.
Oral communication & engagement
10
The candidate presents with clarity, structure, and assurance, and engages constructively with the panel throughout.
Total
100
Judging
The viva
Every student at the conference defends their work in a viva: a short presentation followed by questions from two academics who work in their field.
Length: 20 minutes in total, covering the presentation and the questions.
The presentation: the student explains their question, what they did, what they found, and its limitations. Slides are allowed: email them as a PDF to nsrcteam@gmail.com by Thursday 19 November 2026, together with the poster.
The questions: examiners ask about methods, reasoning, conclusions and limitations, and how the work was done. Good answers show understanding and honest reflection. They do not need to be perfect.
Age and stage: examiners take each student’s age and stage of education into account in the viva as well as in the paper.
Teams: all members attend the viva together, and any member may answer. Examiners may direct questions to individual members.
What to bring: any notes for the presentation. There is no need to bring a poster: email it to nsrcteam@gmail.com as a PDF sized A1 portrait (594 × 841 mm) by Thursday 19 November 2026, and we print it for the showcase.
Access arrangements: students who normally receive access arrangements, such as extra time, a reader or rest breaks, should tell us when they confirm attendance.
Written feedback: every student at the conference receives written feedback from their examiners after the day. It is sent by Friday 11 December 2026.
The day
The conference day
Thursday 26 November 2026 at venue and address to be confirmed. Selected students attend the whole day with a supervising teacher.
Time
Session
09:15
Registration opens
09:40
Welcome and opening keynote from a leading researcher
10:00
Vivas and poster showcase. Students present their posters and are called individually for their viva
11:15
Break
11:45
Vivas and poster showcase continue
13:00
Finalists are announced. Lunch break: students buy lunch nearby and return by 14:00
14:00
Finalist presentations
16:00
Closing keynote
16:30
Prize-giving
17:00
Close
Times are provisional, and the final timetable is sent with the viva timetable on Friday 20 November 2026. Students who cannot arrive in time for the opening keynote may come later, as long as they register at least 30 minutes before their viva.
Getting there:directions, nearest station, parking and drop-off to be confirmed.
Lunch: not provided. Students buy their own from shops and cafés near the venue, with their supervising teacher, and return by 14:00, so bring money for lunch.
Dress: business formal. That means a suit or jacket, worn either with a shirt and tie or with a smart shirt or blouse and tailored trousers or a knee-length skirt, and smart shoes.
Guests: only selected students and their supervising teachers can attend. Parents and other students cannot.
Accessibility: tell us about any access needs when you confirm attendance, so we can plan for them.
You do not register yourself. A teacher creates one NSRC account and enters their pupils. That is how we verify every entry is genuine and properly supervised.
Ask a teacher who knows your work: your subject teacher, head of department or research lead.
Send them the teachers’ page. Registering takes one form.
Once approved, they add you and your project title, and you are entered.