The U of T National Biology Competition
1995-2019

Between 1995 and 2019 the competition was a paper-based
exam with over 120,000 students participating. It was suspended
in 2020 due to the pandemic and resumed in an online format
in 2024 under the leadership of Professor Ritu Sarpal.

In 1994, three Toronto-area high school science teachers approached the Faculty of Arts and Science requesting that U of T host a biology competition for high school students. High school science competitions existed for chemistry, physics, and math (all hosted by the University of Waterloo), but none for biology. Biology professor Corey Goldman accepted the challenge to create the biology competition, and he was its director for 25 years until his retirement from U of T after the 2019 competition.

The competition was created to provide high school students with an opportunity to test their knowledge and understanding of biology, and high school teachers with a vehicle to help them promote biology and share their excitement and interest in biology with their students. It was hoped that the competition would enhance the recruitment of outstanding biology students to the University of Toronto, and increase the awareness among high school students and teachers of the excellence in and commitment to biological education at U of T. Beginning in 2003, the competition served as the qualifying exam for the Canadian Biology Olympiad Training Camp, with the top olympiad participants advancing to the International Biology Olympiad.

The Ontario Biology Competition was first held in 1995 at 277 participating schools. In 1998, at the request of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, the competition expanded across Canada and became the National Biology Competition.

The 25^th annual competition in 2019 included 346 schools, including 92 schools from outside of Canada. Between 1995 and 2019, 120,000 students have participated.

The initial format of the competition exam was modelled after the College Board’s Advanced Placement exam. Participating schools register students, paper exams were mailed to schools, multiple-choice response forms were couriered to the competition office, and personalized results were mailed to each school. Outstanding students received admission scholarships, certificates, and cash prizes, and participated in a team competition for the designation of Top School.

The paper-based exam consisted of 50 multiple-choice questions covering material that a senior high school biology student was likely to have come across in their studies, and completed within 75 minutes. The content of the exam was design to reflect the similarities in the high school biology curricula among the Canadian provinces.

U of T National Biology Competition Scholarships were initially valued at $5,000 and were awarded to the top 15 students (of all participants) in the competition to register in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto (St. George campus). There have been approximately 150 U of T National Biology Competition Scholarship recipients between 1995 and 2019.

The Top 5% of students in Canadian schools received certificates designating them as National Biology Scholars; the Top 1% as National Biology Scholars with Distinction; the Top 5% of students in schools outside of Canada received certificates designating them as International Biology Scholars; the Top 1% as International Biology Scholars with Distinction. Each school with 10 or more participating students received a Certificate of Achievement to award to its top scorer in the competition

Since 1995 schools from each Canadian province participated in the competition, as well as from schools in over 30 countries: