List of School Level Olympiad Exams

As Charles Darwin has rightly said, “survival of the fittest”. In today’s time, everything is about competition. There are a lot of schooling going students who want to achieve newer milestones in their lives. Gone are the days when the intelligence and worthiness of a child were ascertained only on an academic basis or how many marks do they score. In order to prove their competence in their field of interest, lakhs and crores of students every year all over the world turn towards Olympiad exams, which is a quintessential means to add some feathers to the children’s hat. If you are the one looking forward to discovering your aptitude and want to upraise your competitive spirit, read on to know more about the most prominent Olympiad exams.

What is an Olympiad Exam?

Olympiads are competitive exams that are held at the state, national or international level, wherein only the school students between Class I and XII can participate. Conducted for multiple subjects like Mathematics, GK, Science, Astronomy, Computer Science, Language, etc. that are already taught to students, these exams are responsible for providing them with the necessary exposure in this competitive world. They also encourage students to study further and conduct research once they have discovered their field of interest.

Moreover, young applicants are awarded various scholarships, medals, cash prizes and certificates upon clearing the exam.

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What are the Benefits of Olympiad Exams?

Some students and parents consider Olympiad exams as a means to hamper routine studies. However, as we say “every coin has two aspects”, these exams not only polish the knowledge of the students but also upraise their competitive spirit. Here are a  few reasons as to why such tests are a blessing in disguise:

• Achieve Added Knowledge: Apart from their regular studies away from their curriculum, Olympiad gives the students an opportunity to sharpen their skills and encounter numerous problems to come up with creative and logical solutions. Attempting this exam makes the students work on the competitive edge and ace everything they have aimed for.

• Talent Pool for the Future: These exams help in bringing out the best within the students and identify young geniuses in the world. The aim of these exams is to provide the students with a competitive platform and thus creating a pool of talent which has the power to shape the future of the country.

• Platform to Showcase Talent: Covering diverse subjects like Mathematics, Science, Computer Science and GK, the exams help students showcase their unique talents and subjective knowledge on a larger platform.

• Improve Reasoning and Logical Thinking: While preparing for the Olympiad exams, the students tend to improve their logical and analytical skills to a greater extent. Also helping in the overall development of the child at a tender age, they are able to find logic within every aspect of their life and cultivate brainstorming inside them.

• Added Credentials: Clearing and acing an exam adds on to their competitive spirit. Being highly challenging and competitive, the exam can help them achieve the career field the student has aimed for through their meritorious academic records. 

Who Conducts These Exams?

With the sole aim of encouraging students to be on a competitive edge and work hard in their endeavours, there are various organizations that conduct exams both in India and across the world every year. Below-listed is some of the most prominent organizations that conduct such exams:

• Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF)
• Indian School Talent Search Exam (ISTSE)
• Unified Council
• CREST Olympiad
• SilverZone Foundation
• Indian Talent Olympiad
• ASSET- Educational Initiatives
• ICAS/IAIS – Macmillan Education
• EduHeal Foundation

List of School Level Olympiad Exams

Conducted at diverse levels, these exams provide the students with all new opportunities where they can easily exhibit their aptitude and continue to prosper wherever they go. Let us take a look at some of the most renowned exams conducted in India.

Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) Olympiads

SOF is an educational organization which operates with a sole aim of universalising academic competition and encouraging the development of competitive spirit among the school students, in the fields of Science, Mathematics, English, Education, GK and other professional fields. The institution organizes numerous national and international olympiad exams, namely:

• National Science Olympiad (NSO)
• International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO)
• National Cyber Olympiad (NCO)
• International English Olympiad (IEO)
• International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO)
• International Company Secretary Olympiad (ICSO)

All the aforementioned Olympiad examinations are for the students who are currently in classes 1 to 12, except for IGKO (for classes I to X) and ICSO (for classes XI and XII). Those who pass the SOF test are entitled to various awards such as a cash prize of ₹50,000, a gold medal and a certificate of excellence. 

National Talent Search Exam (NTSE)

One of the most sought-after Olympiad exams for school students, National Talent Search Exam (NTSE) is a national-level examination monitored by NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training). The Indian students who are pursuing their 10th class in either India or abroad are eligible to take the NTSE Olympiad. Conducted in 2 phases – state level and national level. Upon clearing both the stages, the students are awarded various scholarships for their further studies in varied professional courses up to the doctorate level. NTSE provides 2000 scholarships presently and scholarship amounts for various levels are:

Technothlon

Conducted by the student body of IIT Guwahati, Technothlon is an international competitive Olympiad examination which is held for the school students across the world to provide the young geniuses with the international championship. The students participate for this Olympiad in teams of 2 wherein they are categorized on the following basis:

• Junior Squad (class IX and X)
• Hauts Squad (class XI and XII)

The championship is organized at two levels – Prelims and Mains. The Prelims is a 2.5 hours long written examination wherein candidates’ GK and logical abilities are tested. Whereas, Mains is an event-based examination such as robotics, investigation, water rocket, air crash, etc. The top 100 students who successfully clear Prelims and selected for Mains (in each squad) and are rewarded gold certificates.

International Life Skill Olympiad

In this dynamic era where nothing stays as it is for long, life skills are permanent. The International Life Skill Olympiad is one such unique exam which assesses the life skills of the young students from class III to XII at an international level. The participants are judged on the basis of their critical life skills by getting them through some real-world based scenarios. Conceived at Harvard University, life skills make a supplement with their existing academic curriculum and aiming towards overall development as an individual. The top rankers of the examination get the tickets to visit Harvard University and also win various exciting prizes and digital certificates.

Indian Talent Olympiad (ITO)

Indian Talent Olympiad is a national level examination conducted for classes I to X. Over 30,000 schools are registered and more than a million students have taken the Indian Talent Olympiad examination all over India. With the collaboration of well-experienced teachers, academicians and educationists, ITO aims to sharpen the problem-solving, analytical and thinking abilities of the students and drive deep understanding within the various subjects taught to them in their school curriculum.

In order to shape the future of Indian students, there are 8 examinations dedicated to different subjects under ITO:

Other Olympiad Examinations which you might consider are:

• HBCSE
• KVPY
• Indian Computing Olympiad
• Crest Olympiad
• ISTSE
• NMMS Scholarship
• NOF
• HummingBird Olympiad
• SEAMO

We hope that we have provided you with all the necessary information pertaining to every little detail about why Olympiad is important and a complete list of examinations conducted in India and abroad. If you are looking forward to ace any competitive exam but require expert guidance to make your dreams come true, Leverage Edu is here for you. Book your 30 minutes free career counselling session with us now!