Bring your school’s researchers. We handle the rest.

Overview

At a glance

Overview

Key dates

All times are UK time. Many schools break for October half term in the week of 26 October, so we recommend preparing submissions before then.

Entering

How to register

Students do not register themselves. One teacher registers the school, then enters each student and submits their work. Registration and submission both close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 1 November 2026.

1. Create a school account. Go to www.thensrc.org.uk and choose Teacher sign-up. Register with your institutional email address.
2. Wait for verification. Before an account can enter students, we check that the school exists and that the email address belongs to a member of its staff. This protects students and keeps entries genuine. It is usually quick, and we email you when it is done. If you cannot use a school email address, write to nsrcteam@gmail.com.
3. Add your students. For each entry, give the student’s name, year group, project title and category. For a team, add every member.
4. Upload the work. Upload each paper and its declarations form (see What to submit) by 23:59 on Sunday 1 November 2026.
5. Request a travel bursary if needed. Apply from the teacher portal (see Cost and travel bursaries).

The registering teacher is the school’s contact for the conference. By submitting an entry, they confirm that:

• to the best of their knowledge, the work is the student’s own
• the declarations form is complete and accurate
• the student and their parent or guardian know the work is being entered
• a member of staff will accompany the student on the day if they are selected

Each school has one account. If several teachers supervise projects, one of them registers the school and submits every entry.

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”.

The declarations form (see Appendix B) covers:

• 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.

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.

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.

The day

Cost and travel bursaries

Entry is free. There is no fee to register, submit or attend.

Travel bursaries help students who would otherwise struggle to attend, especially those travelling from outside London or from schools with limited funds. We have secured £10,000 in philanthropic funding to support the event and student travel.

• How to apply: from the teacher portal, once your students have been selected, by Monday 16 November 2026.
• Travel: schools book their own travel. Bursaries cover the travel costs of selected students and their supervising teacher.
• Amounts: agreed with the school before the day.
• How it is paid: we reimburse the agreed amount after the conference, against receipts.
• Accommodation: for students travelling a long way, we book and pay for accommodation the night before the conference, for the students and their supervising teacher. Students qualify when the journey from school to the venue takes more than three hours by public transport. Request it when you confirm attendance.

If cost is the only thing stopping a selected student from attending, please tell us.

The day

Safeguarding and consent

• Supervision: every student attends with a supervising teacher from their own school. That teacher is responsible for their welfare throughout the day, and overnight where we provide accommodation. Staffing ratios follow each school’s own policy for off-site visits.
• Parental consent: a parent or guardian must complete a consent form for each selected student under 18. It covers attendance, emergency contacts, medical and dietary needs, photography, and publication in the proceedings. We send the form to teachers with the results.
• The vivas: two examiners are always present together, and the student’s supervising teacher may sit in if they wish.
• Risk assessment: the event follows a risk assessment approved by the host venue. It is available to schools on request for their own trip paperwork.
• Photography: students whose consent form does not allow photography will not appear in published images.
• Safeguarding lead: name and on-the-day phone number to be confirmed.

Appendices

Appendix A: Teacher checklist

• Register the school at www.thensrc.org.uk with a school email address
• Receive the verification email
• Check each project is eligible (What counts as research)
• Check each paper is a PDF of no more than 5,000 words, excluding references, appendices and captions
• Check each paper is anonymised: no student, school or teacher names
• Check research involving people, animals or hazards was carried out safely and ethically
• Complete a declarations form for each entry, including AI use and team contributions
• Make sure each student and their parent or guardian know the work is being entered
• Add each student and upload their paper and form by 23:59 UK time, Sunday 1 November 2026
• Look out for results on Tuesday 10 November 2026
• If selected: confirm attendance, return consent forms, email each student’s poster and any slides as PDFs, request a travel bursary if needed, and arrange a supervising teacher