The Top 10 High School STEM Competitions You Need to Know About

If you’re passionate about Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics, you might like to show off your skills and knowledge by entering a competition. There are heaps of high school STEM competitions out there, so we’ve rounded up our top 10 for you to check out.

Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – combine your knowledge of science with a knack for filmmaking and create a video exploring the 2023 theme ‘Green’. Entries for the 2023 competition are open now and close Friday, 14 April.

Big Science Competition – a 50 minute, multiple choice competition testing science knowledge, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Ask your teacher or school if you’d like to register.

UNSW Bragg Student Prize for Science Writing – sharpen your STEM and writing skills by responding to a set essay topic. Dates for 2023 are yet to be announced, so keep an eye out.

Australian Mathematics Competition – an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of mathematics in students’ everyday lives. This year the competition is set to run from Wednesday, 2 to Friday, 4 August. Ask your teacher or school if you’d like to register.

Web.Comp – a week long competition where students can design their own web pages and submit their creations to compete against other students’ designs. The competition is free to participate in for all Australian students, and starts on Monday, 8 May.

Australian Brain Bee Challenge – compete your way through 4 rounds of challenges, learning all about the brain and its functions and finding out about careers in neuroscience. Round 1 is an online quiz run throughout March. Ask your teacher or school if you’d like to register.

Australian Space Design Competition – team up with other students to design a futuristic space settlement – the best submissions will go on to compete in the national finals. Dates for this year’s competition are yet to be announced, so keep an eye out.

F1 in Schools STEM Challenge – take on the challenge of being in a real Formula One team, engineering and manufacturing your own mini F1 car. Ask your teacher or school if you’d like to register.

Australian STEM Video Game Challenge – if you love both science and video games, here’s your chance to combine the two. Work in teams to design and develop a video game based on a chosen theme. Registrations are open now until Monday, 17 July.

Young ICT Explorers – use your technology skills to solve real-world problems by developing a unique project. Registrations are open now and close Friday, 14 July. You will need a teacher or parent/guardian to register on your behalf.

Want more? You can find heaps more competitions on our database.

Bell Shakespeare Shorts Festival

Ready to retell Shakespeare on film? The Bell Shakespeare Shorts Festival is back for 2023.

This year, schools and households may register to take part free of charge – simply sign up and start storytelling. The festival is open to students from primary and secondary schools across Australia, as well as household entrants who may want to work on a film individually.

Why not retell A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Australian outback, or reimagine the Hamlet quote “To thine own self be true,” or even explore what would have happened to Juliet if she never met Romeo? The possibilities to reimagine Shakespeare are endless.

Participating schools and students will have access to a suite of video and worksheet resources on filmmaking and performing Shakespeare, written worksheet resources, and teacher professional development workshops.

Students have the chance to win great prizes for themselves and their school and share their films with a national audience!

Films must be about, or inspired by, Shakespeare and follow these guidelines:

Films must be no more than 5 minutes in duration (secondary schools) and no more than 3 minutes (primary schools);
Films can be shot on a smartphone, tablet or camera;
Films must use Shakespeare’s original text, or be inspired by Shakespeare’s use of language, plays or characters in some way; and
Films must reflect your school and/or your unique community in some way.

Registrations to participate are open now. Submissions are open from Monday, 24 April to Friday, 22 September.

Find out more: https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/bell-shakespeare-shorts-festival

Australian Geography Competition 2023

The Australian Geography Competition is a contest for Australian secondary school students, assessing their geographical knowledge and skills. The Competition aims to encourage student interest in geography and to reward student excellence.

The Competition is open to students in all Years of secondary school. In 2023, the Competition will be held online within schools, from Wednesday, 10 May to Wednesday, 24 May. The Competition consists of mainly multiple-choice questions testing geographical knowledge and skills.

The deadline to enter is Friday, 17 March.

Find out more and enter here: https://www.geographycompetition.org.au/

What Matters? Competition

Inspired by Gough Whitlam’s commitment to involving young people in shaping Australia’s future, the What Matters? writing competition is currently open to school students in years 5 to 12 from Australia. Responding to the simple question ‘what matters?’, entrants are free to express their views on any matter they care about.

Part writing exercise, part civics and citizenship activity, What Matters? is the perfect opportunity to empower students to raise their voices on issues that are important to them and know that their perspectives are valuable, no matter their age, background or viewpoint. Entries can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of up to 600 words, and submitted online.

Entries close on Friday, 5 May 2023.

Find out more and enter here: https://www.whitlam.org/what-matters

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ADF | Parents and Teachers Information Session, Melbourne