Chemistry Olympiad

The annual Chemistry Olympiad is an international chemistry competition for teams of four young people from around the world. The New Zealand team is selected, trained and coordinated as a collaboration between the universities and high schools.

The 2018 Olympiad will be the 50th and is to be held in July in The Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Selection of a training group is made around October/November of the previous year and is based upon performance in a selection test. It will next be held on 25 September 2017. The selection test assumes knowledge of only Year 12 (NCEA Level 2) Chemistry.

During term one, the training group will undergo a programme which includes reading material, problem assignments and a test in early March. From the test, 30 students are chosen in mid-March for a training camp to be held in the April school break.

To be eligible, students must be under 20 and not intending to attend University in 2018. Students must have been attending a New Zealand school for at least two years prior to July 2018. Any student who attended the 2017 NZCHO training camp in April, and still meets the other criteria, will get automatic selection to the training group. They will still need to register their interest.