Competitions · Humanities and writing · BPO
BPO, the British Psychology Olympiad.
One of very few psychology competitions that exist for school students at all - and the route runs from an online paper through a winter research camp to an essay judged globally, ending at a summer programme in Oxford.
The route
Three rounds, and each one is a different kind of work.
The competition changes shape at every stage - a paper, then a residential camp, then a written essay. That is unusual, and it means a student who is strong at one stage is not necessarily strong at the next.
| Round | When | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying round | November or December | A written paper sat online, or at a host school. Two sittings are offered and you take one. Advancing requires a score above a minimum set by the committee - it is a threshold, not a ranking |
| National round | February | An in-person psychology academic event across several days in the winter holiday. Individual and team challenges covering the field, with mentoring on how to conduct psychological research and tackle complex problems, plus professional writing coaching. Every participant writes a psychology paper |
| Global round | After the national round | The papers written at the national round go to the organiser’s global committee for the Psychology Essay Competition. Entrants choose one of three published questions |
| Oxford summer programme | Summer | Global round winners are invited to a psychology academic programme at Oxford. Segment merit-award winners from the national round also go directly |
Note that the qualifying round is a threshold rather than a quota - anyone above the committee’s minimum goes through. That makes the first stage a gate rather than a competition.
At a glance
The essentials.
The British Psychology Olympiad is run by Minds Underground, and the organisers describe it as recommended by Oxford. It is aimed at giving school students a route into psychology, which is a subject almost no school competition covers.
- Who can enter
- Students in grades 9 to 12 with an interest in psychology
- No prior study needed
- The competition is described as open to anyone interested in the subject
- Qualifying round
- Sat online in early November, or online and at host schools in mid-December
- How you advance
- By scoring above the committee’s published minimum
- National round
- Six days in February, in person
- What happens there
- Individual and team challenges, research mentoring, and writing coaching, ending in a psychology paper
- Global round
- A psychology essay answering one of three set questions, judged by the global committee
- Where it leads
- A psychology academic programme at Oxford in the summer
- Fee
- A registration fee applies. Ask the organiser for the current amount
The awards
Read the merit band before reading the certificate.
The award structure is generous at the lower end and narrow at the top, which is worth understanding when judging what a BPO result means.
Everyone who sits the paper is certificated
All students completing the qualifying round receive a participation certificate, and those who qualify receive a qualifying-round merit award.
Merit at the national round is the top 60%
Each segment of the national round awards a champion, runner-up and third place - and a merit award to the top 60% of that segment. Most participants receive one.
The placings are the narrow part
Champion, runner-up and third in each segment are genuinely competitive results. A merit award describes taking part well.
And merit winners go to Oxford
Segment merit-award winners are described as going directly to the Oxford summer programme, which is a substantial thing for a top-60% band to carry. Confirm the current arrangement and what it costs.
What the national round teaches
A research camp with a competition attached.
This is the part that distinguishes BPO from an essay competition, and it is the reason to enter.
How to actually run psychological research
Participants are taught, under mentoring, how psychological research is conducted and how complex problems in the field are approached.
And how to write it up
Professional writing coaching runs alongside, and every participant produces a psychology paper by the end of the round.
Individual and team challenges together
The segments cover different aspects of the field and mix individual work with team work, so the round tests breadth rather than a single skill.
The paper is the ticket onward
What a student writes during the national round is what goes forward to the global essay competition. The writing done in February is what decides the summer.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares a BPO entrant.
The qualifying paper is a threshold, so the real preparation is aimed at the essay - which is written months later, under coaching, at the national round.
Clearing the qualifying threshold
A minimum score rather than a rank. Broad familiarity with psychology as a field matters more than depth in one area.
Reading real psychology before February
A student who arrives at the national round already reading studies gets far more from the research mentoring than one meeting the material for the first time.
Practising writing about evidence
The global round is an essay on one of three set questions. Writing about studies - what they found, what they did not, and what follows - is the specific skill.
And understanding research methods
Sampling, controls, what a result can and cannot show. This is where school students writing about psychology most often go wrong, and it is very teachable.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for BPO 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 BPO 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
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own BPO 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 papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- 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.
Zhang
Master's in cognitive science at UC San Diego on full scholarship, after double honours in neurobiology and behaviour and in cognitive science at UC Davis. Ten years overseas, a perfect TOEFL speaking score, and named an outstanding education scholar at UCSD.
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.
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 BPO, 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
BPO, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Who can enter?
Students in grades 9 to 12 with an interest in psychology. No prior study of the subject is required.
How do I qualify for the national round?
By scoring above a minimum set by the committee in the qualifying paper. It is a threshold rather than a ranking, so everyone above it goes through.
When is the qualifying round?
Two sittings are offered - one online in early November, and one in mid-December online or at a host school. You take one.
What happens at the national round?
Several days in person during the winter holiday, with individual and team challenges across psychology, mentoring on how to conduct research and approach complex problems, and professional writing coaching. Every participant produces a psychology paper.
What is the global round?
The papers written at the national round are submitted to the organiser’s global committee for a Psychology Essay Competition. Entrants answer one of three published questions.
What awards are there?
A participation certificate for everyone completing the qualifying paper, and a merit award for those who qualify. At the national round each segment awards a champion, runner-up and third place, with a merit award going to the top 60% of the segment.
How do I reach the Oxford programme?
Global round winners are invited. Segment merit-award winners from the national round are also described as going directly - confirm the current arrangement and the cost with the organiser.
Who runs it?
Minds Underground. The organisers describe the competition as recommended by Oxford.
Is there a fee?
Yes, a registration fee applies. Ask the organiser for the current amount.
Related
Other psychology and social science competitions.
What students enter alongside BPO.
BPO enquiries
A research camp, and a paper that decides the summer.
The qualifying paper is a threshold; the work that matters is the psychology paper written during the February round. Tell us what the student has read and an advisor will build the preparation around the essay rather than the entrance test.