1
National Preliminary
Jan–Mar 2027
A written assessment hosted in your country. Register directly with your National Coordinator.
Your road to London · 2027
Tournament stages & format
Three stages take young scholars from a national written assessment, through an online interview, to the Global Final at West London College, London — October 2027. Open to students aged 12–17 (by the end of the calendar year of 2027).
The journey
Three stages. One global stage.
2
Online Interview
Mar–May 2027
A 10–15 minute one-to-one interview assessing speaking, listening and academic curiosity.
3
Global Final — London
Oct 2027
A 10-day, 9-night programme of individual and group tasks at West London College, London.
Stage 1 · Jan–Mar 2027
The written assessment
Stage 1 is open to all participants aged between 12 and 17 by the end of the calendar year of 2027. It is held mostly between January and March 2027 — the schedule for certain countries might differ, depending on the preference of the local schools and representatives.
Register directly via the National Coordinator of your country. Can’t find your country on the directory? Fill in the contact form and our Young Scholar Tournament admin team — powered by SiL Testing System — will help you.
Key assessment areas
80 marks totalGeneral Knowledge, History, World News
10%English, Reading, Language Use
25%STEM & Innovation
20%Verbal Reasoning
12%Non-Verbal Reasoning
8%Miscellaneous
5%Each area’s share of the paper, totalling a full score of 80 for the Stage 1 assessment.
Your scholar account
Every Stage 1 participant is assigned a login account to view their results.
Download your certificate
Access and download your Stage 1 performance certificate once results are released.
Choose to continue
Decide whether you want to proceed to Stage 2 — the online interview.
Stage 2 · Mar–May 2027
The online interview
Stage 2 is a 10–15 minute online interview. It assesses your English speaking and listening skills — and through the Q&As with the adjudicators, it lets you showcase your proficiency across multiple subjects and your understanding of this year’s theme.
You book the session you want to attend. Please note: once a booking has been made we cannot accept a change of time — rescheduling affects other participants’ interview sessions and the complexity of administration and coordination.
When Stage 2 results are ready — sometime in March–April 2027, depending on hosting and scheduling — log in to your account to view your score and the accumulated, weighted total for Stage 1 + Stage 2.
The 2027 theme
Technology & Globalisation
Assessment rubric
80% totalListening & Comprehension
10%Spoken English: Clarity & Accuracy
10%Fluency, Interaction & Responsiveness
10%Critical Thinking & Reasoning
10%Multi-Subject Knowledge & Academic Proficiency
15%Application, Connections & Synthesis
10%Understanding of the key theme of the year
10%Intellectual Curiosity & Scholar Mindset
5%Scoring weighting · Stages 1 & 2
How your total score is built
Stage 1 (20%) + Stage 2 (80%) = total score of 100
Scholarships towards the Global Final
We award scholarships to those who have participated in Stages 1 & 2. Scholarships are discounts towards the programme fees of Stage 3 — the Global Final Round in London — based on your performance.
Secure your spot
Participants secure their place at the Final by making the payment at the discounted programme fee determined by their performance in Stages 1 & 2.
Stage 3 · Oct 2027 · London
The Global Final
Held at West London College, London, the Global Final is a 10-day, 9-night programme where students are assessed through multiple individual and group tasks.
We want to see students work independently and collaboratively — taking up different roles while showcasing core subject skills and soft skills — as they move through brainstorming, discussion and consolidation of ideas, all the way to delivering their final presentation: a business pitch of a product, a TED Talk-styled presentation, or a mini debate.
The actual rubrics, scoring criteria and score weighting of each task will be made available as the Final draws nearer.
Business pitch
Pitch a product to the panel.
TED-style talk
Deliver an idea worth spreading.
The 21st century skills
Learning Skills (The Four Cs); Literacy Skills (Information literacy...); and Life Skills (Flexibility...)
Group tasks
Brainstorm, consolidate, present.
For more details on this arrangement and for further enquiries, participants should directly reach out to the National Coordinator of their countries.