Swiss Chemistry Olympiad¶
Schweizer Chemie-Olympiade
Key Websites¶
Overview¶
Key Facts
- Official name: Schweizer Chemie-Olympiade (German) / Olympiades suisses de chimie (French)
- Organizer: Verein SwissChO (Swiss Chemistry Olympiad Association), founded 6th September 2003
- Umbrella organization: Science Olympiad (Wissenschafts-Olympiade) — the association coordinating Switzerland's 11 olympiad subjects
- Languages: German, French, Italian, and English
- IChO since: 1987
- Liechtenstein: competes through the joint Swiss–Liechtenstein programme
- IChO hosting: 2023 (55th IChO, ETH Zurich)
The Swiss Chemistry Olympiad (Schweizer Chemie-Olympiade, SwissChO) is Switzerland and Liechtenstein's national chemistry competition for secondary-school students. It is organized by Verein SwissChO (the Swiss Chemistry Olympiad Association), founded in 2003, under the umbrella of the Science Olympiad association, which coordinates eleven olympiad subjects across Switzerland. The competition is notable for offering exams in four languages — German, French, Italian, and English — reflecting Switzerland's multilingual character.
Competition Format¶
Open to secondary-school students in Switzerland and Liechtenstein who have not yet begun university studies.
The SwissChO is conducted in three progressive stages.
-
Round 1 (online qualifying round)
- A 40-minute multiple-choice examination taken online at schools
- Typically held in late summer (August–September)
- Approximately 600 students enter in recent editions
-
Round 2 (preparation weekend + written examination)
- A preparation weekend held in November (Basel in recent years)
- The written examination follows in January, typically at the University of Bern
- Around 40–50 students participate
- Conducted in German, French, Italian, and English
-
Finals week
- Held after Easter at ETH Zurich
- 18 finalists in 2026
- Includes both theoretical and experimental (practical) examinations
- The top 4 students form the IChO delegation
Further preparation weekends bring the best students together at EPFL Lausanne (February) and the University of Zurich (March) before the finals week.
History¶
- 1987: Switzerland first participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad (19th IChO, Veszprém–Budapest, Hungary).
- 1992 / 1996: Switzerland's two IChO gold medals were won in this era.
- 2003: Verein SwissChO was founded on 6 September 2003, giving the olympiad its own dedicated association under the Science Olympiad umbrella.
- 2012: Liechtenstein sent its first participant to the IChO through the joint Swiss–Liechtenstein programme.
- 2023: Switzerland hosted the 55th IChO at ETH Zurich (16–25 July), welcoming 89 delegations and 348 students with a budget of around CHF 3.6 million. The host team won one honorable mention.
- 2026: At the 58th IChO in Tashkent, all four Swiss team members won bronze medals — the first time the entire delegation medalled.
The national programme is run as the Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad, with participants from both countries. Notably, Ruben Locher — a vocational-track student rather than a gymnasium student — won three IChO bronze medals in consecutive years, a rarity that highlights the programme's openness beyond the academic track.
IChO Performance¶
IChO Medal Record
2 Gold · 
5 Silver · 
45 Bronze · 
15 Honorable Mentions
Liechtenstein students participate through the joint Swiss-Liechtenstein programme but have not yet won an IChO medal.
Past Exams Archive¶
2026: 20th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| German | Link | Link | Link | |
| French | Link | Link | ||
| Italian | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Solution - English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
2025: 19th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| German | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| French | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Italian | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Solution - English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
2024: 18th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | ||
| German | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| French | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Italian | Link | Link | Link | |
| Solution - English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
2023: 17th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| German | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| French | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Italian | Link | Link | Link | Link |
| Solution - English | EN FR | Link | Link | Link |
2022: 16th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | Link | |
| German | Link | Link | Link | |
| French | Link | Link | Link | |
| Italian | Link | Link | Link | |
| Solution - English | Link | Link | Link |
2021: 15th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Language | Final - Theory | Final - Experiment | Round2 | Round1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Link | Link | ||
| German | Link | Link | Link | |
| French | Link | |||
| Italian | Link | |||
| Solution - English | Link | Link | Link |
2020: 14th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Round | Language | Q/A | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | English | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | German | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | French | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | Italian | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | English | Solution | Link |
| Final - Theory | English | Question | Link |
2019: 13th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Round | Language | Q/A | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final - Theory | English | Question | Link |
2018: 12th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Round | Language | Q/A | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | English | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | German | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | French | Question | Link |
| Round 1 | Italian | Question | Link |
| Round 2 | German | Question | Link |
| Final - Experiment | English | Question | Link |
| Final - Experiment | German | Question | Link |
2017: 11th Swiss and Liechtenstein Chemistry Olympiad¶
| Round | Language | Q/A | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | English | Question | Link |
| Round 2 | German | Question | Link |
| Round 2 | French | Question | Link |
| Round 2 | German | Solution | Link |
| Final - Theory | German | Question | Link |
| Final - Theory | French | Question | Link |
| Final - Theory | German | Solution | Link |
| Final - Experiment | English | Question | Link |
| Final - Experiment | English | Solution | Link |
Before 2017¶
Collection of 2007-2017 (German): Link