The contest rules
Official rules of The Big Challenge, 2027 edition.
The aim of The Big Challenge
The main aim of THE BIG CHALLENGE is to encourage the learning of English through a playful, educational activity. For this event to be a success and to create genuine motivation among students, it must bring together as many participants as possible within the school.
Who is it for?
The contest is open to all students from primary to lower-secondary levels in schools that have chosen to learn English. It is also open to upper-secondary students. Although the contest is not originally intended for native English speakers or students with a high level of English acquired outside school, these students may take part out of competition.
Students ranked out of competition obtain their points but do not appear in the regional and national rankings. They are therefore not eligible for the main prizes. They still receive the prizes for all registered students, and teachers may hand them prizes from the additional prizes to reward them at their discretion.
After registering the students for the contest, the registration coordinator is required to provide the first and last names of the students concerned by the native-speaker status mentioned above.
How to take part?
In each school, a member of the teaching team, appointed internally as the BIG CHALLENGE COORDINATOR, registers their school online or by returning the registration form by post. They are the link between the contest secretariat, the various teachers wishing to have their students take part, and the school’s administrative services. The contest materials (internet link/MCQ, etc.), the final ranking and the prizes are sent to the coordinator for all classes in order to simplify the organisation.
The minimum number of students to register for the contest per school is set at 30, across all levels. Shipping fees (0 €) are free from 31 students.
Schools unable to sit the test on the scheduled date may contact us to request a waiver.
Funding
THE BIG CHALLENGE receives no financial support and is funded entirely by the participation fee requested for each student:
- The Big Challenge CONTEST – Online and Mixed formats: 5 € per student
The participation fee covers all the contest costs (production and printing of information letters, registration packs and posters, creation of the questionnaires…), the development and hosting costs of the online contest — including scaling-up considerations — the marking, organisation and management costs, and finally the purchase and shipping of all the prizes handed out to participants. It also covers, throughout the year, the costs related to the games, activities and content of the PLAY app, which students can access from September (development, maintenance, server hosting and constant security optimisation for data protection in compliance with the GDPR).
Payment
These participation fees may be paid either by the students’ families, by the school, or partly by the school and partly by the families. Registration fees must be paid in full at the time of registration and no later than the registration deadline set for the current year, so as to fund the purchase of all the prizes that will be shipped at the time of the results. Once registered and paid, registrations cannot under any circumstances be cancelled and refunded. However, since all the prizes have been purchased, they will be sent to the school for all registered students, whether or not the students are present at the time of the test. A supporting invoice will be issued on request only. For international schools, an additional participation fee corresponding to the extra shipping costs will be requested.
Running the contest
| Mixed format | Online format | |
|---|---|---|
| Contest date | 15 March 2027 The timing of the test is chosen by the teachers depending on the school’s organisation. | 15 March – 27 March 2027 The timing of the test is chosen by the teachers depending on the school’s organisation. To simplify the organisation, several contest sessions can be held on the same day (e.g. one for the lower levels and one for the higher levels). |
| Test duration | 45 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Sitting conditions | The contest is a questionnaire made up of multiple-choice questions. For each question there are four possible answers. The goal is to tick the box matching the single correct answer. The questions cover vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and culture. A specific questionnaire is set for each level so that it matches the curriculum perfectly. The test is strictly individual and is taken without any outside help or any aid (book, dictionary, search engine…). It is taken under the responsibility of a teacher or a member of the teaching team who ensures its fairness. | The contest is a questionnaire made up of multiple-choice questions. For each question there are four possible answers. The goal is to tick the box matching the single correct answer. The questions cover vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and culture. A specific questionnaire is set for each level so that it matches the curriculum perfectly. The test is strictly individual and is taken without any outside help or any aid (book, dictionary, search engine…). It is taken under the responsibility of a teacher or a member of the teaching team who ensures its fairness. |
Assessment
| Mixed format | Online format | |
|---|---|---|
| Points per correct answer |
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| Points per wrong answer |
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| Points when no answer is given | If no answer is given, the question counts as 0 points. If several answers are given, the question also counts as 0 points. | If no answer is given, the question counts as 0 points. If several answers are given, the question also counts as 0 points. |
| Bonus points | To avoid the risk of a negative or zero score, the score obtained by totalling all the points is increased by 80 points. Each student’s score will therefore range between 12.5 and 350 points. | To avoid the risk of a negative or zero score, the score obtained by totalling all the points is increased by 85 points. Each student’s score will therefore range between 18.75 and 350 points. |
Example
| Mixed format | Online format | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13.5 + 80 = 93.5 points For this example, the final score will be 93.5 out of 350. |
11.25 + 85 = 96.25 points For this example, the final score will be 96.25 out of 350. |
Marking and ranking
All marking is carried out by THE BIG CHALLENGE. The score and rankings obtained by each participant in the school are sent to the school together with the prizes.
For the Mixed format, for each level, three rankings are established: national, local and by school.
In the event of a tie, students are separated by giving priority to the one who answered the most questions; if ties remain, they are ranked from youngest to oldest.
For the Online format, for each level, three rankings are established: national, regional and by school.
In the event of a tie, students are separated by giving priority to the one who answered the most questions; if ties remain, they are ranked from youngest to oldest.
International schools may take part in the contest. However, their students are not ranked at national level and therefore cannot win the prizes set aside for those winners.
The prizes
THE BIG CHALLENGE offers prizes for all registered students. Other levels of prizes are awarded corresponding to the different rankings obtained by the students:
To adapt as well as possible to each edition, the nature and number of rewards are set annually by the organisation according to the level and ranking of the participants.
Per student
Whatever their ranking, each registered student receives their Official Certificate as well as a BIG CHALLENGE certificate of honour, along with a small gift related to the English language.
Per school
Whatever the scores obtained by its students, each school additionally receives prizes for the participants with the best results in the different levels. The number of prizes awarded to the school for its students is directly proportional to the number of participating students. As a result, more than 50% of students receive an additional prize. In each school, the School Awards: the top student in their level receives a superb medal. One condition at registration: the school must register at least 80 students in total, or have 20 or more students registered in the level.
By region
The number of winners is announced after the contest. The winners in each region receive special prizes, including fine cups.
At national level
The number of winners is announced after the contest. The national winners also receive special prizes, including fine cups.
The BOOST Award
Among all the students who answered at least half of the contest questions correctly, a prize draw designates those who each win a SPECIAL PRIZE in the BOOST Award.
The CHALLENGE Award
Among all the students who took part last year and who record their result on their Big Challenge account, and whose score improved this year compared with last year, a prize draw designates those who each win a SPECIAL PRIZE in the CHALLENGE Award.
Good to know
A student taking part in the contest several years in a row, consecutive or not, can only win a national prize once. If, during their schooling, they were to be a national winner more than once, they would keep their score but be ranked out of competition, and the prizes normally won would be awarded automatically to the next participant. In addition, students who win a national prize do not also receive the regional prizes. National and regional winners do not receive the School, Boost or Challenge Award prizes either. Students from international schools are not ranked at national level and therefore do not have the chance to win a top national prize.