Selective programmes

Every route runs backwards from a date.

Give a child’s age and a destination. The map shows the rungs between the two — what is still ahead, what has already gone, and where the preparation exists.

This map is a suggestion, not a schedule. It shows one sensible way to build practice and proficiency toward a destination — every child prepares differently, and reaching a rung is never a guarantee of a place.

Year 7 · summit endpoint
14rungs still ahead

Summit endpoint · Biology

International Biology Olympiad

3 of 17 rungs are already behind. Of those, 2 sat on the main line — CREST Star · CREST SuperStar. What remains is a compressed route, and it is shown in full below.

Of the 14 rungs still ahead, Troupe prepares 0.


The line

Ahead of youPriming yearNot yet taughtAlready behindInterchangeDestination
THE PUPIL, NOWREC4CREST StarAny time · 6 × 1hrY15Y26Y37CREST SuperStarAny timeBioArtAttack,including the NancyRothwell AwardEntries spring · resultsY48Y59Y610Y711CREST DiscoveryAny time · ~5 hrs2CREST BronzeAny time · ~10 hrs3Y812Y913Biology Challenge —first eligiblesittingLate Apr–early May 2027Y1014Biology Challenge —second sittingLate Apr–early May 20272CREST SilverAny time · ~30 hrs2Y1115No biology rungexists in Year 11Big Bang CompetitionEntries early Mar · final3Y1216British BiologyOlympiad — first oftwo sittingsMid-late Jan 2027 · TBCIntermediate BiologyOlympiadJune 2027 · 2-week window2UK Team Selection,Warwick — the Year12 invitationAfter Easter · Apr–MayCREST GoldAny time · ~70 hrs2Y1317British BiologyOlympiad — thesitting that countsMid-late Jan 2027 · TBCUK Team Selection,University ofWarwickAfter Easter · Apr–MayInternationalBiology Olympiad18–25 Jul 2027 · Warsaw

CREST Discovery

Y7–8 · First projects

Any time · ~5 hrs

What it asks forCarries a five-hour investigation across several sessions without losing the thread between them.
PreparationNot yet offered
Interchange · this rung also serves 1 destination