How important are competitions for cambridge/imperial application?

No place to show UKMT or BPhO results through UCAS as I know. Cambridge doesn't care your PS. More important is the predicted A level grades and recommendations from your school.

You can and should mention them on your personal statement if relevant for your subject
OP you haven't said what subject you're actually going for but:
For Engineering/Physics: Your ESAT definitely matters more than anything else
For Computer Science: Your TMUA matters most
For Maths: there's no admissions test prior to the offer but your personal statement doesn't matter as much and as long as you're a decent candidate you'll likely get an interview
Regardles, these competitions will improve your problem solving skills and therefore your skills on admissions tests and interview - definitely keep doing them with
But as someone who has applied, if you get an international certificate from an international Olympiad you are given the chance to upload it (and the way to get there generally is through the British ones)

Hey guys,
I am in y12 and I am seeing what competitions I can do to improve my application for cambridge. I have already done the UKMT senior maths challenge but I only got a silver award. I am planning on doing the BPhO computational challenge and physics challenges and cambridge chemistry challenge and maybe some essay compeitions. Will this be enough? I know I probably will have to try and get gold for the UKMT SMC again but other than that is this okay?
Thanks

Are you sure you can upload certificates other than (predicted) A levels, APs, IB and EPQ etc.?

Yes, if you go on the Christ's college Cambridge current applicants page and look at the November 4th deadlines you'll see them giving people the chance to

Do you mean SAQ? Not many bother to fill anything there.

No place to show UKMT or BPhO results through UCAS as I know. Cambridge doesn't care your PS. More important is the predicted A level grades and recommendations from your school.

You can and should mention them on your personal statement if relevant for your subject
OP you haven't said what subject you're actually going for but:
For Engineering/Physics: Your ESAT definitely matters more than anything else
For Computer Science: Your TMUA matters most
For Maths: there's no admissions test prior to the offer but your personal statement doesn't matter as much and as long as you're a decent candidate you'll likely get an interview
Regardles, these competitions will improve your problem solving skills and therefore your skills on admissions tests and interview - definitely keep doing them with
But as someone who has applied, if you get an international certificate from an international Olympiad you are given the chance to upload it (and the way to get there generally is through the British ones)

Thanks for that useful info...re the uploading of International Olympiad certificates isn't that incredibly niche? With the IMO for example that would be 4 students in the UK. Probably more important for international applicants given 110 countries compete in the IMO. I don't know much about the other Olympiads

I’m in Y9, also eyeing Cambridge. Honestly, you're on the right track. UKMT SMC silver is still decent, but yeah, gold would definitely look shinier on the personal statement. The BPhO Computational and Physics Challenges are great choices—Cambridge loves that problem-solving flair, especially if you're going for NatSci or anything STEM-ish.
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge? Big yes. It’s made by Cambridge people, so it’s basically like waving a flag saying “Look, I can handle your chaos.” And essay competitions are smart too, even for STEM—they show you can think critically and communicate, which is rarer than you'd think in science applicants.
Will this be enough? Maybe. It’s not about ticking boxes—it’s about showing depth, commitment, and that you actually enjoy the subject beyond the classroom. So if you’re doing these things because you care about the topics and can reflect on them in your application/interview, you’re golden (even if your UKMT award isn’t—yet).
Also, consider doing some kind of independent project or research (EPQ, if it doesn't bore you to death), or reading original papers/texts. Cambridge eats that up.
So yeah, you’re doing fine. Just don’t turn into a trophy collector—be a subject nerd with proof.
Finally, check US Medicine & Disease Olympiad, UK Medicine & Disease Olympiad, British Neuroscieance Olympiad, and International Medicine and Disease Olympiad. They are all global championships for international students. Brain Bee is also prestigious and well-known.

I’m in Y9, also eyeing Cambridge. Honestly, you're on the right track. UKMT SMC silver is still decent, but yeah, gold would definitely look shinier on the personal statement. The BPhO Computational and Physics Challenges are great choices—Cambridge loves that problem-solving flair, especially if you're going for NatSci or anything STEM-ish.
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge? Big yes. It’s made by Cambridge people, so it’s basically like waving a flag saying “Look, I can handle your chaos.” And essay competitions are smart too, even for STEM—they show you can think critically and communicate, which is rarer than you'd think in science applicants.
Will this be enough? Maybe. It’s not about ticking boxes—it’s about showing depth, commitment, and that you actually enjoy the subject beyond the classroom. So if you’re doing these things because you care about the topics and can reflect on them in your application/interview, you’re golden (even if your UKMT award isn’t—yet).
Also, consider doing some kind of independent project or research (EPQ, if it doesn't bore you to death), or reading original papers/texts. Cambridge eats that up.
So yeah, you’re doing fine. Just don’t turn into a trophy collector—be a subject nerd with proof.
Finally, check US Medicine & Disease Olympiad, UK Medicine & Disease Olympiad, British Neuroscieance Olympiad, and International Medicine and Disease Olympiad. They are all global championships for international students. Brain Bee is also prestigious and well-known.

Why are you so obsessed with Olympiads?

Hey guys,
I am in y12 and I am seeing what competitions I can do to improve my application for cambridge. I have already done the UKMT senior maths challenge but I only got a silver award. I am planning on doing the BPhO computational challenge and physics challenges and cambridge chemistry challenge and maybe some essay compeitions. Will this be enough? I know I probably will have to try and get gold for the UKMT SMC again but other than that is this okay?
Thanks

For top unis like Cambridge, extrcurriculars on their own don't matter that much. For a successful aplication, you have to show them your passion, and extracurriculars is just a great way to do so. Of course, you also have to have top predicted grades AND a good score on the admission test, but for your application to succeed, you have to tell them that you definitely LOVE what you want to do. When it comes to extracurriculars, the best structure is to tell what you do to find out more about your subject of interest, what did you find out from it, and ideally, how it supported your further research (even better if the further research leads you directly to your other extracurricular). So, the number of extracurriculars doesn't really matter as long as you can demonstrate your passion through what you did. Jesus College Oxford YT channel broke this down perfectly and explained personal statements really well, so I suggest checking them out. If you want to do more, you can find many free online webinars or just any online programs for Y12 that involve different subjects, so just watching through them for an hour or so and then noting down what you learned also counts as a good extracurricular. Wider reading, even if it's just short books, listening to podcasts or watching scientific videos is a quite easy way to nail your personal statement. if you want something more hardcore, you can check out any summer schools, related volounteering opportunities, placement programs, or local events that might be related. If you think you might qualify for any Widening participation programmes, it is worth to check them out as well, you can find many programmes on university websites, or by just simply looking it up.

To say it is about passion is not true. It is based on your abilities. The pre test, interview are all about problem sovling.

Hey guys,
I am in y12 and I am seeing what competitions I can do to improve my application for cambridge. I have already done the UKMT senior maths challenge but I only got a silver award. I am planning on doing the BPhO computational challenge and physics challenges and cambridge chemistry challenge and maybe some essay compeitions. Will this be enough? I know I probably will have to try and get gold for the UKMT SMC again but other than that is this okay?
Thanks

They assess students' abilities a lot, because in Cambridge, there is a big workload and they want to make sure that this student can cope with it (they have regular examinations, too). During the interview, they ask you questions to see the way you think abd process information. Yeah, abilities is an important factor of the application, but when we are talking about extracurriculars, the main reason you do them is to demonstrate your passion for the subject. Relevant extracurriculars allow students to develop skills and relevant ABILITIES in their chosen area, but on the application, there is no space to put that you have a gold certificate of the Maths challenge or whatever. You can put it in the Personal statement, yes, but simply saying "I wanted to challenge myself and did this challenge and got this award" is not enough. Okay, you have the mathematical skill to exceed, this is amazing, but what did you LEARN from it? This is actually one of the main issues with personal statements targeting a competitive university – Cambridge often mentions it whenever they talk about personal statements.
Abilities ARE important during the application process. Yes, without abilities, it is highly unlikely that they would select a student for a course. But even if you did demonstrate that you have amazing abilities (outside of ESAT, which is an assessment of the abilities on its own), if you write about stuff that you did that do not show your passion for the subject, this immediately makes your personal statement less competitive compared to people who did otherwise. Therefore, when choosing extracurriculars, it is important to primarily focus on those that can deepen your understanding of your chosen subject. This is especially important during the application process and making it more competitive, before the interview. But it is also important to demonstrate your passion during the interview.
Eg. "I read this book X and I learned Y from it. This made me interested in Y, so I did Z, and this helped me improve my understanding of Y by learning A/improving my practical skills with B". Obviously this can be pit into better words, but this is a way better PS structure during the application process than "I am applying to NatSci and I decided to challenge myself with the Maths Challenge and got a gold certificate." Abilities are mostly assessed by the entrance exam and academic record. Interview is a mix of both abilities and passion assessment. PS is a stage at which you can demonstrate passion mostly, but some abilities as well as long as this is relevant. Eg. You want to apply to NatSci and do something related to the amount of substance, which allows you to develop both understanding of the topic and improve your maths skills.