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2025/2026 Entries Now Open!
A 30 minute, 50 multiple choice question challenge. The questions on the Primary Challenge are accessible yet still challenge those with more experience.
Time Limit
30 minutes
Price
First set £25 (€30) then,
£15 (€17.50) per set.
NB: Each set consists of 10 entries.
Key Dates
Challenge Day: 6th May 2027
Entry Deadline: 29th April 2027
Age
England & Wales: Year 6 and below
Scotland: P7 and below
Northern Ireland: P7 and below
Rep. Ireland: 5th Class and below
Meet the Primary Challenge.
We are on a mission to inspire an independent, life-long and fun education. With a competitive quiz style designed to challenge students' knowledge across multiple topics, BMSAQ delivers a powerful way to create curiosity and foster students' love for learning. Additionally, students can build their self-confidence and esteem while growing connections with other like-minded students, making the BMSAQ a versatile, incredible experience for students.
Explore a world of topics...
The BMSAQ is the only challenge bringing a matrix of topics all together and ensuring a smooth and accessible experience for all learners. From Geography and History to Culture and Science, the BMSAQ is designed to challenge and inspire all kinds of learners.
50 multiple choice questions.
The BMSAQ Challenge is divided into five exciting sections consisting of 20 questions. All questions have four options. There's no penalty for answering incorrectly.
How it works
Oh. So. Simple
Register your school
Purchase entries
Sit challenge
Receive results
The online format allows students to use a computer, laptop, or tablet to compete. It's easy to use and students can practice using the online platform from our website, at any time.
Logging in:
After you purchase entries, we will email you a list of individual usernames and passwords that students can use to access the Challenge.
Let students know that they can attempt the questions in any order and can always go back to change an answer. Their answers will be saved immediately. At the end of the Challenge, they must select the 'submit' option beneath question 100.
Once your students have finished, you do not need to do anything further.
Awards and Scoring
Awards are given out on a percentage basis and the minimum raw marks change each year to reflect any changes in difficulty. The top-scoring 49% of students are awarded each year. Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze are awarded to students scoring in the top 10th, 20th, 35th and 49th percentile respectively. Students that are best in school, county, nation and the student best across the UK & Ireland (overall highest) will also be awarded specially. Students not amongst the top scorers will receive a Certificate of Participation. See more about our awards here.
Why Join?
Challenge. Discover. Succeed.
The BMSAQ is versatile and benefits endless needs. Whether you’re promoting life-long curiosity and individual learning or looking to add more to your university application, our challenges are a fun and powerful way to do so. Here are just a few of the countless reasons you should join the BMSAQ.
Magically creating lifelong learners.
We have made learning fun and rewarding, bringing curiosity back into the minds of teenagers. Quizzing dates back centuries. It motivates students by sparking friendly competition with their peers, driving them to study harder. They build confidence and boost their self-esteem as they successfully answer questions that go beyond the narrow bounds of the national curriculum in Geography, History, Science and Culture. Quizzing often leads to discussions and further exploration of topics, fostering curiosity and a love for learning. Through the BMSAQ, students become more active learners without even realising.
Gain recognition and rewards.
The BMSAQ is a brilliant bit of extra-curricular activity to put on your application form for college/ university. It shows a real passion for learning and an ability to work individually. It also helps build self-confidence as you learn how to articulate your thoughts under time pressure.
Build your exam skills.
The BMSAQ is a fun and powerful way for students to become more accustomed to the emotions and environment of sitting an exam. Students face unseen questions and are required to problem solve throughout. Students are less likely to be anxious or overwhelmed when facing future major exams.
Get things done
quickly and easily.
Signing up for the BMSAQ is a fast and easy process with our intuitive user-friendly website. Sign up with just a few clicks, then we'll handle the rest. Our dedicated support team is here to assist you every step of the way, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience from registration to results.
Leave the marking to us.
There's no need to worry about marking these papers teachers! Each paper is marked by our experienced BMSAQ team so you can relax. All you need to do is scan your student's answer sheets and send them to us. Within 30 days we send you the results straight to your email.
Prefer a printed version?
We recognise the diverse range of schools and students competing and have developed our competition to meet the needs of everyone competing. If you prefer the traditional feel of pen and paper you can order a printed set and we will email you a copy for you to print.
Refer a new school and get 10 free entries each.
With BMSAQ Referrals, just refer us an eligible school to join and get an extra 10 free entries each whenever they sign up.*
FAQs
How does scoring work?
The Junior Challenge has a possible 100 marks which students can achieve. Each question is worth one mark. There are NO marks deducted for a wrong answer.
How do I pay for the question papers?
You can pay via BACS or Card. When ordering your Challenges we will ask you to provide an email for us to invoice. This can be your email or your school's finance officer. After you confirm your order we will send an invoice to the email you have specified. Invoices can be paid via BACS. You can also paid via card.
What formats can I use to compete in the challenge
The Challenge can be completed in a paper format or online. If you choose to compete using the online format, students will need to have a computer, laptop or tablet. If you choose the paper format, schools will need to print the Challenge at thier own expense (which will be emailed to you approx. 1 day before the Challene).
When and how do I submit my students' answer sheets?
You must scan and send your student's answer sheets to us on the day they sit the challenge. On the day of the Challenge, we will send you an email reminder.
How do I scan my students answer sheets?
Firstly, you will need to scan the paper answer sheets to your computer. Your files can be up to 100MB. This should be more than enough to upload all your answer sheets in 1 file, however, if not you will need to put them into several different files and send them together. It does not matter what these files are called.
Tips:
Use a sheet-fed scanner to create a PDF file
Do NOT use a cell phone PDF scanner app, which will alter the layout and hide glare marks.
Scan papers between 100-300 PPI
Scan in Grayscale, black and white or colour.
One answer sheet per page
Maximum File Size of 100MB
Please note: Do not upload any rough work, blank sheets, seating plans or answer booklets.
Can my students take home their answer booklets or answer sheets?
No, your students must not take home any materials on the day of the challenge. This is to accommodate any schools who may be taking the challenge at another time.
However, if you wish to hold these materials in a safe location, students can collect them after results have been released. This is not mandatory.
Getting Ready?
Try our Specimen Paper
Download BMSAQ's free specimen paper to help students achieve better results. All our resources are available for immediate download or online practice.
* The referrer and the referee will be entitled to:(a) 10 online entries (1 set) free of charge each; or (b) 10 paper entries (1 set) for the reduced price of £4.99 each.Referee schools must be new to the competition to be eligible. Rewards are subject to the referrer and referee each purchasing at least one entry set.
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