BRITISH NEUROSCIENCE OLYMPIAD

British Neuroscience Olympiad 2027: Registration Is Now Open!

Could you be one of the UK’s next young neuroscience champions?

Registration for the British Neuroscience Olympiad (BNO) 2027 is now open, giving secondary school students the opportunity to put their knowledge of the human brain to the test and compete against other ambitious young scientists.

Whether you already dream of studying neuroscience, medicine, psychology or biomedical sciences — or you simply want to find out just how much you can learn about the most complicated organ in the human body — the British Neuroscience Olympiad is your opportunity to take neuroscience beyond the classroom. And you don’t need your school to enter.

Students can register independently.

👉 REGISTER FOR BNO 2027

What is the British Neuroscience Olympiad?

The British Neuroscience Olympiad is a neuroscience competition for secondary school students interested in exploring the science of the brain.

Students are challenged on subjects that go far beyond the typical school curriculum, from neurons and neurotransmitters to memory, sensory systems, neuroanatomy and neurological disease.

The goal isn’t simply to memorise facts.

It’s an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of neuroscience, challenge yourself academically and discover whether neuroscience could become part of your future.

The BNO 2027 Competition Pathway

The British Neuroscience Olympiad 2027 will consist of three stages:

• Regional Round — Online (3–7 January 2027)

The first round is conducted completely online and is open to students internationally. There is no fixed examination time during the competition window, allowing participants to complete the examination at a suitable time.

The exam consists of:

50 questions | 30 minutes | Online proctored examination

Students may register themselves and do not need to enter through their school or teacher.

• National Round – August 2027

The Top 50 competitors from the Regional Round will be invited to progress to the National Neuroscience Olympiad. This is where the competition becomes considerably more challenging.

Students can expect neuroscience challenges involving:

🧠 Multiple-choice neuroscience questions
🔬 Neuroanatomy and neurohistology
🩺 Patient diagnosis
🎤 Live neuroscience Q&A

The MCQ component is expected to contain approximately 90 questions, while the patient diagnosis challenge will present competitors with clinical cases requiring them to identify neurological conditions.

Students will also be challenged to identify structures from real brain and spinal cord specimens.

The Top 10 performers from the preceding sections will progress to a Live Q&A.

• International Round – October 2027

Four students will have the opportunity to represent the UK at the International Neuroscience Olympiad.

This gives successful competitors the chance to take their neuroscience knowledge onto an international stage and meet other students who share their interest in the subject.

More information about the International Neuroscience Olympiad can be found at https://www.ino-global.net.

Who Can Participate?

You do not need to attend a specialist school.

You do not need your biology teacher to register you.

And you certainly don’t need to already be an expert in neuroscience.

The Regional Round is designed to give interested students an opportunity to challenge themselves and start exploring neuroscience seriously.

Students can register independently, making the competition particularly accessible to students whose schools don’t currently participate in academic Olympiads.

Why Compete in a Neuroscience Olympiad?

If you’re considering studying medicine, neuroscience, psychology, biomedical sciences, biology or another STEM subject, competitions like the BNO give you something that ordinary classroom learning often cannot:

a reason to explore a subject in much greater depth.

Instead of learning neuroscience because it happens to be on an exam specification, you’re learning because you need to understand how the nervous system actually works.

For students considering university courses in these areas, preparing for the Olympiad can therefore also provide something valuable to discuss when reflecting on your academic interests and wider reading.

What Should I Study for BNO 2027?

Preparation for the Regional Round is based on two core neuroscience resources:

Neuroscience: Science of the Brain: Students should study the book with the exception of Chapter 16 — Artificial Brains and Neural Networks and Chapter 18 — Neuroethics.

Brain Facts: Students should also study Brain Facts, published by the Society for Neuroscience.

Together, these resources introduce many of the fundamental concepts students need to understand for the competition.

For students who progress to the National Round, preparation expands further and includes Neuroscience: Science of the Brain, Brain Facts, and Essential Neuroscience by Siegel.

This means successful competitors should be prepared to move progressively from foundational neuroscience towards considerably deeper knowledge and practical application.

Want Help Preparing? Join the Neuroscience Olympiad Training Camp

If opening a neuroscience textbook and seeing several hundred pages makes you wonder where on Earth to begin, you’re probably not alone.

That’s why we are also running a Neuroscience Olympiad Training Camp for students preparing for the competition.

The program provides structured neuroscience preparation and helps students work systematically through the knowledge required for Olympiad-style questions.

Training includes areas such as:

• Core neuroscience concepts
• Neuroanatomy
• Neurohistology
• Neurological disorders
• Patient diagnosis
• Competition-style questions
• Mock examination practice

Students interested in joining the training program can register their interest here:

👉 JOIN THE NEUROSCIENCE OLYMPIAD TRAINING CAMP

The British Neuroscience Olympiad gives you a target to work towards, a reason to explore science beyond your normal curriculum and an opportunity to discover how far your interest in the brain can take you.

You might enter simply because neuroscience sounds interesting. You might discover that you love it. And you might find yourself progressing from an online competition all the way to representing the UK internationally. But first, you have to enter.

Register for the British Neuroscience Olympiad 2027

📅 Regional Online Round: 3–7 January 2027
🌍 Location: Online
⏱️ Exam: 50 questions in 30 minutes
💻 Format: Online and proctored
🎓 School registration required: No — students can register independently
🏆 Top 50: Progress to the National Round
🌎 International pathway: Four students will have the opportunity to represent the UK at the International Neuroscience Olympiad

Registration is now open.

👉 REGISTER FOR THE BRITISH NEUROSCIENCE OLYMPIAD 2027

Start preparing now — and put your brain to the test.

Important: The British Neuroscience Olympiad is not part of or affiliated with the International Brain Bee. Winning the BNO does not qualify a student for the International Brain Bee. The international pathway described above is to the International Neuroscience Olympiad (INO).