Poster competition

The British Science Week poster competition is back for 2025, and this year, as well as our usual challenge, we have an exciting new category for older children and young people!

So how do things work this year? Early years and primary children are invited to enter our usual poster competition, linked to this year’s British Science Week theme of ‘Change and adapt’. You can find full details of the Change and adapt competition below.

Older primary children, aged 8-11, may also be interested in our special competition category and are welcome to enter this instead if they would like to.

Secondary aged young people should only enter this year’s special competition category, linked to the exciting work of a team of researchers at University College London (UCL). This is a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and thinking with a group of real top scientists! We’ve opened up this special category to older students too, so young people aged 11-14, 14-16 and 16-19 are welcome to enter! Find out more about the scientists’ research in the Activity Packs, and by reading the competition brief below.

Each school, group or organisation can enter a maximum of five entries. We encourage you to run the competition with larger groups, so everyone has a chance to take part, but just submit your top five for judging. You can always award further prizes within your school or organisation if you wish! Submissions from individuals will also be accepted. Please see the competition rules below for more details about how to submit entries.

This year, the competition will close for entries on Thursday 3 April 2025.

Early years and primary – ‘Change and adapt’ poster competition

The theme for 2025 is ‘Change and adapt, – there are loads of STEM topics to be explored. Pupils could create a poster showing how plants and animals adapt to changing seasons or surroundings, or how humans have adapted to changing technology. They could look at climate change and how we can adapt our behaviours to protect the environment, or their favourite science experiment and how it shows change. The more creative the interpretation of the theme, the better!

Check out the winners of the 2024 competition.

How will the posters be judged?

We wish that everyone could be a winner, but we only have a limited number of prizes. So, here’s the lowdown on what the judges will be looking for:

• Creativity in approach – Innovative angle on the content or creative interpretation of the theme – don’t be afraid to think outside the box
• Content – Clear, accurate and informative about a STEM topic
• Effective communication – presented and communicated in an engaging way

Members of the British Science Association will shortlist entries, and a panel of judges will select a winner in each category. The two runners up in each category will be uploaded to our Facebook page and the public will decide on a ‘popular vote’ winner.

What are the prizes?!

Prizes for the 2024 competition winners included:

Cool Cat Chem Cards, 5-minute STEM books, Shape Aliens Game, At the museum jigsaw, A Day in the Life…books, Shroot pouches, Memberships for My Science Club, MegaWatt Games, SuperQuesters: The Case of Angry Sea STEM adventure books by QuestFriendz, A collection of Science Works books, Two space-themed 3D building playsets, Our Living Planet book, WWF adoption pack, Annual subscription to Save My Exams, A 12 month subscription to Alfresco learning.

Prizes may vary by age category and by availability and we reserve the right to make changes to the prizes. Any prize awarded will be split across the team should a poster be submitted by a team.

Enter here

Secondary special competition category (also open to interested primary pupils aged 8-11). The scientists from UCL need your help!

Can you help them by coming up with a new idea or invention to improve the health of the air in our buildings? This year, our special category is open to young people aged 11-14, 14-16 and 16-19, as well as older primary aged children, aged 8-11, who are interested!

Choose an indoor public space where you often spend time – this could be an area where you learn, or a place you visit regularly like a library, café or cinema. Do you think the air in this space is healthy and clean? Why? Come up with an idea or invention to change the air in your chosen space, making it healthier to breathe. How will it work? Could it be used in other public places too?

You might have a brand-new idea, or you might come up with something that already exists but re-imagined in a unique or creative way. The researchers at UCL have considered lots of different ideas for improving air quality and preventing the spread of viruses in hospitals. For example, you could think about face masks, curtains and screens, ventilation, fans or air filters.

Then think carefully about how you will lay out and present your idea. You should consider how best to communicate your research so that it is clear and logical. You could create a set of instructions, a detailed diagram or you might like to develop an eye-catching poster!

Entries must be A4 or A3 in size and you’ll need to be able to take a photograph of your work so it can be sent to us online for judging.

How will the posters be judged?

We wish that everyone could be a winner, but we only have a limited number of prizes. So, here’s the lowdown on what the judges will be looking for:

• Creativity in approach – You might have a brand new idea, or you might come up with something that already exists but re-imagined in a unique or creative way.
• Scientific content – Your ideas should be clear, accurate and in line with your level of learning.
• Research content – You might carry out some research first, to inform your thinking, and this should be reflected in your entry.
• Viability – Could your idea work? Can you explain how? Show or explain how it would it change the air in your chosen space and make it healthier!
• Presentation and effective communication – Aim to present your idea in a way that is clear, logical and easy to understand. Think about the way you set out your ideas and the use of text and images. You could create a poster, a set of instructions or a diagram – think about the best way to showcase your thinking!

Researchers from the team at UCL, alongside members of the British Science Association, will shortlist entries, and a panel of judges will select a winner in each age category. Two runners up in each age category will be uploaded to our Facebook page and the public will decide on a ‘popular vote’ winner.

What are the prizes?!

We have an exciting array of prizes available for the winners of our special competition category this year. Watch this space for more details!

Prizes may vary by age category and by availability and we reserve the right to make changes to the prizes. Any prize awarded will be split across the team should a poster be submitted by a team.

Enter here

Moving on to something less fun… (but important!), what are the rules?

We welcome entries from everyone: schools, youth or community groups, parents entering their children or any other organisations!

All entrants must be within the age categories below:

* If children are of an age that spans categories (e.g. 5, 8, 11, 14 or 16 years old), they should be submitted for the higher age group if born between April – August.

* Please enter students with SEND into the category that best fits their level of work, regardless of their age.

Key rules:

• Entrants can be teams or individuals
  – teams will be judged in the age category of its oldest member
  – any prize awarded will be split across the team.
• Each school/group can enter a maximum of five entries in total. We encourage you to run the competition with larger groups but to select the top five to enter from your school. If you send more than five entries, we will only be able to include the first five in the competition. You can award further prizes within your school-level competition if you wish.
• Entries must be one page of A4 or A3 paper only and you will need to take a photo or scan of it to send electronically.
• Work must be original and created by the student(s) – please do not use any templates.
• Posters must be uploaded with entrant details:
  – entrant first name (all names if a team) and entrant age (all ages if a team)
  – category (of the oldest team member)
• Please name your files with the competition category, school postcode and student’s first name in the form, i.e. ‘EY_SW75HD_Ellie’. If students share a first name, please also include a number or initial.
• Please use the abbreviation EY for Early Years, IN for Infant, JU for Junior and S1UCL, S2UCL or S3UCL for the Senior age categories.
• If you are a primary school entering the UCL poster competition, please add UCL to your competition category i.e. ‘JU_UCL_SW75HD_Ellie’.

Please note, the data submitted will be used for the administration of the competition. First names, ages and schools of students may also be shared on our website and social media pages – if you do not want this data to be shared online you should make this explicitly clear in your submission, and we will only share school name.

Full poster competition terms & conditions:

• Only up to 5 entries per school/organisation/group are allowed.
• Only schools within the UK, including BFPO addresses, are eligible to enter the competition.
• We reserve the right to make changes to prizes.
• There will be 1 overall winner and runner up per age category. There will also be 1 overall popular vote winner for each competition category.
• Posters will be judged based on the judging criteria for each competition category. The popular vote winner will be chosen based on likes via the British Science Week Facebook page.

-The winner of the popular vote will be decided based on the post with the most likes.

– The dates and times of the popular vote will be updated closer to the time. No likes after this date shall be counted.

• Entries must be submitted digitally – scan or photos of the original poster are accepted. 3D models are not eligible for the competition. (Flaps are allowed as long as the poster still makes sense without the flaps being lifted.)
• Entries that do not include details of the entrants (see above) in the entry form will not be eligible to win a prize, although student names are not required and we encourage you NOT to send students’ full names.
• All entries must be registered through the online form to be eligible to receive a prize.
• Winners will be notified via the email submitted through the online form.
• Prizes will be posted to the address submitted via the online form.
• There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
• If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within five days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
• The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. This includes any judging that occurs.
• Entrant’s first name, age and school name will be announced on social media and on our website. If you do not wish for this data to be shared you should make this explicit on the entry form.
• Entries may be displayed and used for marketing, with only first names used.
• All entries must be made online, as listed above.
• The closing date for entries is at 6pm on Thursday 3 April 2025.
• Prizes are non-transferable.
• Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Poster competition supporters

Thank you to our 2025 poster competition supporters.