Ultimate STEM Challenge 2025/26: Terms and conditions

Enter your students’ creative work for a chance to win an iPad or free education workshop for your school.  

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN 

These Terms and Conditions (“Official Rules”) set out the rules for the Ultimate STEM Challenge 2025/26 (“the Competition”) hosted on https://energisingfutures.co.uk/ (“the Website”). By entering, you agree to comply with these Official Rules and all decisions made by the Funder. 

The Funder and Administrator 

The Funder is bp plc, 1 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4PD (company number 00102498). 

The Competition is administered by We Are Futures Limited on behalf of bp plc. 

The Funder reserves the right to cancel, amend or suspend the Competition or these Official Rules in the event of circumstances beyond its reasonable control. Any changes will be published on the Website. 

Eligibility     

  • This Competition is open to all students in the UK aged 9-14. 
  • Entries must be submitted by a teacher at a UK school, or a parent/legal guardian of home-educated students. 
  • Each entry may be from an individual or a team of up to four students. 
  • Entrants may only participate once – either individually or as part of one team. 
  • Teachers or parents may submit multiple team entries using separate entry forms. 
  • Employees, agents or contractors of bp plc, We Are Futures Ltd, ASE, or anyone professionally connected with the Competition, and their immediate family members, are not eligible to enter. 
  • The Funder may request proof of eligibility. 
  • Entries that are incomplete, illegible, corrupted, late, or otherwise fail to meet the conditions will not be accepted. 

  Entry Period     

  • The Competition will open at 09:00 on 17th November 2025 and will close at 23:59 on 30th April 2026 
  • Entries made outside of the entry period will not be accepted. 

 How to Enter 

  • Submissions may be made: 
  • By post to: Ultimate STEM Challenge, We Are Futures, 1 Paris Garden, London SE1 8ND 
  • The Funder is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of entries. Entrants are advised to keep proof of posting or email submission. 

 Consent 

  • The adult submitting the entry must ensure it is with prior consent of the student’s parent/legal guardian, and such consent is granted by the parent/legal guardian’s signature on the entry form. 

 Entry Content 

  • All submissions must: 
  • Include school, first name and age of all team members. 
  • Comply with the Competition brief as published on the Website. 
  • Represent the students’ own original ideas and work. The use of generative AI tools (such as Chat GPT, image generators, or similar software) to create or substantially modify the content or design of entries is not permitted. Digital tools used for illustrating, writing or presentation (such as Word, PowerPoint or graphics software) are allowed. The Funder reserves the right to request clarification or evidence of originality if AI-assisted work is suspected. 
  • All valid entries become the property of the Funder upon receipt. 
  • Entrants grant the Funder a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use, reproduce, display and share their entries for the purposes of administering and promoting the Competition and related educational activities. 

 Safeguarding and Permission 

  • Only teachers and parents/legal guardians aged 18 or over may participate in this Competition and must not encourage children to use social media for the purposes of this Competition. 
  • Participants must follow their school’s safeguarding and data protection policies and gain any required permission from their school’s leadership before participating.  

 Prizes 

  • There are three prizes in total: 
    • Overall Winner (Class Prize): A visit from the National Robotarium, including a live workshop for the winning school. 
    • Primary Category Winner (Ages 9-11): An Apple iPad 11th generation (A16). 
    • Secondary Category Winner (Ages 11-14): An Apple iPad 11th generation (A16). 
  • Prizes are non-transferable and no cash alternative is available. 
  • The Funder reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if circumstances beyond its control make it necessary to do so.  
  • If the teacher or parent/legal guardian cannot be contacted or fails to respond within five working days, the Funder may select an alternative winner at its discretion. 

 Judging 

The Competition will take place in two stages: 

  1. Preliminary Judging – All eligible entries will be reviewed by an expert judge who will shortlist finalists. 
  2. Final Judging – A panel of independent judges will review the shortlisted entries and select the winners based on the judging criteria: 
    • Relevance to the Task: How well the entry addresses the Competition brief and explains how the robot solves a real-world problem. 
    • Innovation: Creativity and originality of the idea. 
    • Effort: The level of thought, research and development shown. 
    • Design Quality: Clarity and presentation of the design, whether hand-drawn or computer-generated. 
    • The judges’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

 Winner Notification and Publicity 

  • Winners will be notified using the contact details provided on their entry form and will be announced on the Website. 
  • Winners may be invited to take part in publicity related to the Competition. The Funder will only publish a winner’s name, school, or photograph with the explicit written consent of the entrant’s parent/legal guardian (and winner if aged 13 or over). 
  • This consent will be gained separately after winners are selected and before any information is publicised. 
  • No entrant will be disadvantaged if consent is withheld. 

 Liability 

  • Except for liability for death or personal injury caused by the Funder’s negligence, the Funder accepts no responsibility for: 
    • late, lost, misdirected or incomplete entries; 
    • any technical or network issued affecting entry submission; or 
    • any loss, damage or injury arising from participation in the Competition or acceptance of any prize. 

 Data Protection and Privacy 

  • Personal data relating to entrants and their teachers, parents or guardians will be processed by bp plc and We Are Futures Ltd in accordance with: 
    • All applicable UK data protection and privacy laws. 
  • Data will be used only for administering the Competition, contacting winners, and related promotional activity.  

General     

  • These Official Rules are governed by English Law. 
  • Any disputes arising in connection with the Competition shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.