Brain Bee field notes
News & insights
Competition guidance, neuroscience reading, and practical preparation notes for students, families, and educators.
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What IB, AP and A-level Biology Give You for the Brain Bee — and the Three Gaps They Do Not Cover
IB, AP and A-level biology cover the neuron well and the rest of the Brain Bee syllabus barely at all. Where the overlap ends, and how to bridge the three gaps.
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Two Ways Into the Brain Bee National Round: What the China Selection Numbers Mean for Your Target
About 500 students reach the Brain Bee national round in China per our operator briefing, roughly 350 on regional quota and 150 on national ranking. What that funnel means for your target.
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Crossing Grade 8: What Changes When You Move From Junior to Senior Brain Bee in China
In the China region divisions split at grade 8. Moving up to Senior changes paper length, item types and the team element at once. How to plan the bridging year.
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The Brain Bee Junior Team Science Poster: Half the National Marks, Decided on the Day
In the China region, Junior students at nationals sit a 40-mark paper plus a team science poster worth another 40 marks, with the topic issued on the day. How to prepare.
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The Brain Bee National Round Is Marked Out of 100: How the Senior Paper Splits and How to Budget Revision
The China Senior national round is marked out of 100: a 50-mark written paper, 26 marks of image ID and 24 of case diagnosis. How to budget revision against that split.
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Practising for the Brain Bee Without an Official Question Bank: Testing Yourself in Four Formats
The Brain Bee has no complete published practice archive, so most students revise by rereading. A system for turning any syllabus page into questions in all four tested formats.
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The Brain Bee Disorders Map: Linking Symptom, Structure and Mechanism for Twelve Conditions
Disorders are the highest-leverage content block in Brain Bee study because they cut across anatomy, chemistry and case reasoning at once. A symptom-to-structure-to-mechanism map for twelve conditions.
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Brain Bee Prep Calendar: An Autumn-Start Plan That Survives a Full IB or AP Workload
A Brain Bee season is usually decided in September, not February. A three-phase calendar built for students already carrying IB, AP or A-Level coursework, with a late-start plan.
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Neuroscience Vocabulary in English: A Word-Building Method for Brain Bee Students
Terminology is the hidden bottleneck in the Brain Bee for students working in English. Decode terms by root, prefix and suffix instead of memorising them one by one.