Latvian Chemistry Olympiad¶
Latvijas ķīmijas olimpiāde
Key Websites¶
- VIAA — Chemistry Olympiad
- Mazā ķīmijas skola (Little Chemistry School)
- Latvia Chemistry Teacher
- University of Latvia
- Facebook - Mazā ķīmijas skola
- Labs of Latvia
Overview¶
The Latvian Chemistry Olympiad (Latvijas ķīmijas olimpiāde) is organized by the State Education Development Agency (VIAA) under the Ministry of Education and Science. A jury composed of staff from the University of Latvia Faculty of Chemistry and representatives of chemistry teachers' associations designs the assessments and grades the national-stage exams. The Mazā ķīmijas skola (Little Chemistry School), based at the University of Latvia, serves as an organizational hub, maintaining the olympiad problem archive and running training programmes.
Latvia has participated in the IChO continuously since 1991 — the year of restored independence — and has never missed a single edition. The olympiad can be traced back to approximately 1959, during the Soviet era.
Competition Format¶
The olympiad follows a three-tier elimination system, followed by a dedicated IChO team-selection phase.
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School Round (Skolas posms)
Classroom exams designed by individual teachers. Open to students in grades 9–12. Approximately 5,000+ students participate.
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Regional Round (Novada posms)
Online assessment with automated software grading. Approximately 2,000–3,000 students compete. Held in January.
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National Final (Valsts posms)
A 3-day in-person event at a university, typically held in March. Approximately 150 top scorers compete. Written theoretical exam plus laboratory practicals. Separate task sets for younger (grades 9–10) and older (grades 11–12) students.
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IChO Selection
Top performers take part in additional selection rounds and an intensive summer training camp. The top 4 performers form the Latvian IChO delegation. Latvia also participates in the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad (BChO), which serves as an important preparatory stepping stone.
University Admission Benefits
- High achievers earn additional points (papildu punkti) in competitive university admissions at the University of Latvia Faculty of Chemistry and related programmes at Riga Technical University
- The Jauno ķīmiķu skola (Young Chemists School) year-long enrichment programme awards a certificate granting additional admission points
- International olympiad winners receive awards from the EU Funds programme
History¶
- ~1959: The first national chemistry olympiad was held during the Soviet era (estimated from the 68th edition in 2026/2027)
- 1991: Latvia first participated in the IChO as an independent nation at the 23rd IChO in Łódź, Poland, where it won two bronze medals
- 1993: Latvia won its first IChO gold medal. It also co-founded the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad, whose first edition was held in Riga
- 2008: Second IChO gold medal
- 2019: Third IChO gold medal
- 2023: The 29th Baltic Chemistry Olympiad was held in Dobele, Latvia
IChO Performance¶
| Medal | Count |
|---|---|
 Gold |
3 |
 Silver |
21 |
 Bronze |
70 |
 Honourable Mention |
10 |
Distinctive Features¶
- Mazā ķīmijas skola (Little Chemistry School): A unique year-long youth enrichment programme and community that supports olympiad preparation, maintains a repository of problems, and serves as a hub for chemistry education
- Baltic Chemistry Olympiad: Latvia is a founding member (BChO originated in Riga in 1993) and a regular host
- Digital second stage: The regional round is conducted entirely online with automated scoring
- Two-cohort system: Younger students (grades 9–10) and older students (grades 11–12) compete with different exam papers at the national final
Past Exams Archive¶
| Year | Regional Round | National Round | Team Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Link | Theory Solution Experiment | |
| 2025 | Question Solution | Grade12-Q Grade12-S Grade11-Q Grade11-S Grade10-Q Grade09-Q Grade09-S |
|
| 2024 | Link | ||
| 2023 | Link | ||
| 2022 | Link | A-Q A-S B-Q B-S C-Q C-S |
|
| 2021 | Link | Question Solution | |
| 2020 | Link | Link | Question Solution |
| 2019 | Link | Link | A-Q A-S B-Q B-S |
| 2018 | Link | Link | A-Q A-S B-Q B-S |
| 2017 | Link | ||
| 2016 | Link | Theory Experiment | |
| 2015 | Link | Theory Experiment | Question Solution |
| 2014 | Link | Theory Experiment | Link |
| 2013 | Link | Link | Link |
| 2012 | Link | Theory Experiment | Link |
| 2011 | Link | Question Solution | Link |
| 2010 | Link | Question Solution | Link |
| 2009 | Question Solution | Question Solution | |
| 2008 | Question Solution | Theory Solution Experiment | |
| 2007 | Link | Link | |
| 2006 | Link | Link | |
| 2005 | Link | Link | |
| 2004 | Link | Link | |
| 2003 | Link | Link | |
| 2002 | Link | Link | |
| 2001 | Link | ||
| 2000 | Link |