Competitions · Humanities and writing · IHBB
IHBB, the International History Bee and Bowl.
Bee is the individual competition, Bowl is the team one, and you can do both on the same day. The syllabus is genuinely global - a quarter Asian history, a quarter ancient.
Bee and Bowl
Two competitions, and they do not clash.
The names are not interchangeable and the distinction decides how a student enters.
Bee is individual
Three preliminary rounds of thirty questions each - ninety in all - followed by a final. Entered alone.
Bowl is a team of four
Five preliminary rounds, each made up of four sections of eight to ten questions of varying length, followed by two knockout rounds.
And a strong student can do both
The two run without conflicting, so an individual entrant can also play in a team on the same day.
But a Bowl team must be from one school
Cross-school teams are not permitted. All four members come from the same school.
The syllabus
Where the questions actually come from.
The published breakdown is unusually specific, and it is the most useful preparation guide available - not least because it is far less Western-weighted than most history competitions.
| Region | Share of questions |
|---|---|
| Asian history | 25% |
| American history | 20 to 25% |
| Medieval and modern European history | 25 to 30% |
| Ancient history | The remaining 25% |
Within those regions the questions cover social, political, military, cultural and linguistic history from ancient Egypt to the present day. Every question is a buzzer question. Note that a quarter of the paper is Asian history - a student educated in Asia starts with an advantage that most history competitions do not offer.
At a glance
The essentials.
IHBB is an English-language history buzzer competition covering the history of the humanities, sciences, philosophy, language, politics, diplomacy and society. It has drawn around 50,000 students from more than fifty countries.
- Language
- English
- Three levels
- Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity
- How levels work
- By age, with an upper limit for each level and no lower limit - so a younger student may play up
- Bee format
- Three preliminary rounds of thirty questions, then a final
- Bowl format
- Teams of four. Five preliminary rounds of four sections each, then two knockout rounds
- Team composition
- All four members must be from the same school
- Regional tournaments
- 25 to 30 across Asian cities each academic year, in person and online, from November to April. Each is a single day at a weekend
- Online regionals
- Two a year, in autumn and spring
- How many you can enter
- Up to three regional competitions per academic year, each using a different question set
- Advancing from an in-person regional
- The top half of students and teams qualify for the Asian Championship
- Advancing from an online regional
- The top two thirds qualify
- Beyond that
- Regional winners qualify for the global competition
- Fees
- Around $535 for a team of three, $395 for two and $295 for one - confirm the current rates
How to use the season
Three tournaments, different question sets.
The structure is unusually forgiving, and a student who understands it gets far more out of the year.
Up to three regionals a year
Each uses a different question set, so entering three is genuine practice rather than repetition.
And the online route is easier to qualify from
The top two thirds of an online regional reach the Asian Championship, against the top half at an in-person one. That is a meaningful difference.
Twenty-five to thirty regionals across Asia
Spread from November to April, each a single weekend day. There is usually one within reach.
Which makes it a season, not an event
A student can enter early, learn what the questions are like, and enter again better prepared. Very few competitions here allow that.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares an IHBB entrant.
Buzzer history rewards a particular kind of knowledge - recognisable facts, retrieved fast.
Practising on the buzzer
Questions get easier as they are read, so the skill is deciding when you know enough to answer. That judgement is trainable and it is what separates competitors.
Using the published weighting
Twenty-five percent Asian history, a quarter ancient. Students who prepare only European and American history are preparing for half the paper.
Dividing the syllabus in a Bowl team
Four players from one school covering four regions between them is a far stronger arrangement than four generalists.
And entering early in the season
With up to three regionals on different question sets, the first is best treated as calibration rather than as the attempt that counts.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for IHBB at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for IHBB is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Motions and case-file pack
The same material our own IHBB students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast motions and topic areas
- DOCXA case-file template, ready to fill in
- PDFFormat, speaking times and the judging criteria
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Lu
Master's in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a double major in psychology and philosophy at Mount Holyoke. Cross-cultural teaching experience across China and the US, with research work in child and adolescent development, cognition, and international students' identity.
Yang
Educated at American Heritage School, then English literature and philosophy at the University of British Columbia and a master's in language education at Toronto. Eleven years in North America, with a close working knowledge of the international curricula and overseas admissions.
He
A Cambridge master's after a computer science degree with a mathematics minor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a US high school GPA of 4.13. Six years overseas and teaches entirely in English, across AMC, Math League, AP Computer Science and AP Calculus.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
IHBB
- 2020-214 students advanced to the global round, a 100% rate, with a second place at the regional final
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for IHBB, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
IHBB, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
What is the difference between the Bee and the Bowl?
The Bee is the individual competition - three preliminary rounds of thirty questions, then a final. The Bowl is for teams of four - five preliminary rounds of four sections each, then two knockout rounds. They do not conflict, so a student can enter both.
Can my team come from different schools?
No. All four members of a Bowl team must be students at the same school.
What levels are there?
Middle School, Junior Varsity and Varsity. Levels are set by age with an upper limit for each and no lower limit, so a younger student may compete at a higher level.
What does the syllabus cover?
25% Asian history, 20 to 25% American, 25 to 30% medieval and modern European, and the remaining 25% ancient. Within those, social, political, military, cultural and linguistic history from ancient Egypt to the present.
How many competitions can I enter?
Up to three regional competitions per academic year, each using a different question set.
How do I qualify for the Asian Championship?
From an in-person regional, by finishing in the top half of students or teams. From an online regional, by finishing in the top two thirds.
When do the regionals run?
From November to April, with 25 to 30 held across Asian cities each academic year in person and online. Each in-person regional is a single day at a weekend, and two online regionals run each year, in autumn and spring.
What does it cost?
Around $535 for a team of three, $395 for two and $295 for one. Confirm the current rates with the organiser.
What language is it in?
English.
What comes after the Asian Championship?
Regional winners qualify for the global competition.
Related
Other quiz and history competitions.
What students enter alongside IHBB.
IHBB enquiries
A quarter of it is Asian history.
The published weighting is far less Western than most history competitions, and up to three regionals a year makes it a season rather than a single shot. Tell us the student’s year group and an advisor will plan the entries.