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The Quadathlon Cup

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Now accepting expressions of interest from British international schools — and other high-performing schools worldwide.
THE QUADATHLON CUP

British Academic Prestige, Reimagined

A high-challenge talent-development championship built to recognise, challenge, and celebrate excellence across every mind.

Explore the Competition
Select a slide

Explore the Competition

A quick overview of what is happening now, what students will do, and how the shared annual curriculum theme is structured across the three divisions.

Upcoming Rounds

See the next available rounds and key dates. Schools register and enter teams, then progress through the regional and championship pathway.

Upcoming Rounds

Muscat Regional Round seal
Muscat Regional Round
TBD
Muscat, Oman
January 22–23, 2027
Dubai Regional Round seal
Dubai Regional Round
TBD
Dubai, UAE
January 29–30, 2027
Nairobi Regional Round seal
Nairobi Regional Round
TBD
Nairobi, Kenya
February 27–28, 2027
Full dates, registration details, and round information are available on the calendar page.
View Calendar & Registration

Explore the Events

Students complete four individual events, followed by two team events. Use the tabs below for a clean overview.

  • Sustainable Design ChallengeSpatial design, planning, modelling, feasibility, and presentation.
  • Maths Reasoning ChallengeData-rich quantitative reasoning, analysis, and justified conclusions.
  • Abstract Reasoning ChallengePattern recognition, classification, matrices, and abstract rule application.
  • Linguistics ChallengeLanguage reasoning: patterns, rules and meaning worked out from unfamiliar languages, alongside the season theme.
  • STEM Innovation PitchTeams create and present a practical, reasoned solution to a real-world problem.
  • Team Orienteering ChallengeA trail of station puzzles around the host campus, solved as a team and gone through together on stage.
Full event descriptions, formats, and expectations are available on the dedicated Events page.
View Full Event Guide

Curriculum Outline

The Quadathlon Cup follows one shared annual curriculum theme, differentiated across three divisions.

  • One shared annual themeAll divisions study the same broad theme, creating a coherent season across the competition.
  • Three divisionsExplorers, Junior, and Senior engage with the same core subject areas at different depths.
  • Scaled challengeDepth, complexity, independence, and performance expectations increase appropriately by age and stage.
  • Broad academic coverageStudents work through shared subject strands and communication tasks under the season theme.
Each division studies the same broad subject areas under the shared annual theme, with depth, complexity, and independence scaled appropriately by age and stage.
Season Theme

Welcome to the Quadathlon Cup

A talent-development championship where teams of up to four compete across six championship events — growth, teamwork, and academic excellence at the centre.

View dates & apply Explore the competition
2026/27 SEASON

Expand the sections below if you want more detail.

Start Here — Schools & Students Click to open
For Schools (Teachers & Coordinators)
Low admin, clear schedule, structured preparation. Follow the calendar, explore the event structure, and review the curriculum.
For Students
Understand the format, explore the events, and learn how teams of up to four succeed together.
Talent Development Framework — Breadth of Reasoning Click to open

The Quadathlon Cup is designed to develop well-rounded academic thinkers. Students strengthen many kinds of reasoning through purposeful challenge and teamwork — not just the one they find easiest. Teams work best when different strengths contribute.

Core reasoning skills: Spatial, Verbal, Quantitative, and Non-Verbal.

Spatial

Design thinking, 3D visualisation, transformation, and intelligent modelling.

Verbal

Clarity of communication, argument precision, reading interpretation, and structured writing.

Quantitative

Reasoning with numbers, patterns, logic, data interpretation, and problem-solving under constraints.

Non-Verbal

Abstract reasoning, pattern recognition, classification, and flexible thinking with minimal language demand.

Competition progression: School Registration & Team Entry → Regional Round → Championship Round → Global Final (United Kingdom).

Competition Structure

The Quadathlon Cup Competition Pathway

The Quadathlon Cup is designed as a clear, progressive journey. Schools begin by registering and entering teams, then progress through regional competition, advance to the championship round, and the strongest performers move on to the Global Final in the United Kingdom.

Select a stage below to view more detail.

Stage 1

School Registration & Team Entry

Schools begin the Quadathlon Cup journey by registering and entering student teams. This first stage confirms participation, establishes each school’s team entry, and provides the formal starting point for progression into the competition pathway.

Progression pathway: School Registration & Team Entry → Regional Round → Championship Round → Global Final (United Kingdom)
Age Divisions

Three Divisions, from Year 3 to Year 13

Every student competes against students at the same stage of school. All three divisions follow the same annual theme and the same six events, with depth and challenge scaled to each stage.

Primary

Explorers

Years 3–6

Grades 2–5 · typically ages 7–11

Accessible high challenge. Students meet the season’s theme at primary depth and build confident reasoning across all six events.

Lower secondary

Junior

Years 7–9

Grades 6–8 · typically ages 11–14

Deeper reasoning. Greater depth and complexity in every event, with more independent thinking.

Upper secondary

Senior

Years 10–13

Grades 9–12 · typically ages 14–18

Advanced challenge. The full depth of the season’s curriculum, with the independence expected of upper secondary students.

  • Teams of four, with every member entered in the same division.
  • One division all season, from the regional round to the Global Final.
  • Younger students may play up a division. No student plays down.
Read the full divisions guide

Not every round runs every division. See Calendar & Registration for the divisions offered at each round.

2026/27 season

How Divisions Are Decided

Year group decides

A student’s division is set by their school year group at the start of the 2026/27 school year.

One division for the whole season

That division holds at every stage of the season: the regional round, the championship round and the Global Final, even though the Global Final falls in the following school year. A student in their final year of school who qualifies remains eligible for the Global Final after leaving school.

Schools outside the British system

Find your school’s system in the table below. If your year groups do not line up with the table, including schools whose year begins in January, the student’s date of birth decides.

DivisionBritishGrade or ClassIBBorn between
ExplorersYears 3–6Grades 2–5Upper PYP1 Sep 2015 – 31 Aug 2019
JuniorYears 7–9Grades 6–8MYP 1–31 Sep 2012 – 31 Aug 2015
SeniorYears 10–13Grades 9–12MYP 4–5, DP1 Sep 2008 – 31 Aug 2012

“Grade or Class” covers American, Indian, Gulf ministry and similar systems, in which Grade 1 or Class 1 is the first year of school at about age six.

Playing up

A younger student may compete in a higher division, for example a Year 6 student joining a Junior team. A team competes in the division of its most senior member, and a student who plays up takes that division’s papers and events in full. No student may compete in a division below their own.

Not sure?

Ask us before registering and we will confirm the right division for each student. The full divisions guide has worked examples, or you can send us a question.

Explore the GAQ Cup

View the competition calendar, review the curriculum, and explore the structure of the championship in more detail.

Calendar & Registration Season Theme

Why Schools Participate

A competition designed to strengthen how students think, collaborate, and grow

The Global Academic Quadathlon Cup is more than a competition experience. It gives schools a structured way to challenge learners, celebrate varied strengths, and connect academic performance to meaningful real-world contexts.

Click each benefit to explore how the competition supports schools, students, and wider academic development.

Global Academic Quadathlon Cup

Rounds around the world

The 2026/27 season convenes scholars at Regional Rounds across Asia, Europe and Africa, narrowing to the Championship and the Global Final.