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 University of Latvia Faculty of Chemistry staff and chemistry teachers' associations designs the assessments and grades 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 traces its origins to approximately 1959 during the Soviet era.
Competition Format¶
The olympiad follows a three-tier elimination pyramid plus a dedicated IChO team-selection phase.
-
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 attend additional selection rounds and an intensive summer training camp. The 4 highest performers form the Latvian IChO delegation. Latvia also participates in the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad (BChO), which serves as a 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: First national chemistry olympiad held during the Soviet era (calculated from 68th edition in 2026/2027)
- 1991: Latvia first participated in the IChO as an independent nation at the 23rd IChO in Łódź, Poland, winning two bronze medals
- 1993: Latvia's first IChO gold medal. Latvia also co-founded the Baltic Chemistry Olympiad, with the first edition held in Riga
- 2008: Second IChO gold
- 2019: Third IChO gold
- 2023: 29th Baltic Chemistry Olympiad 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 problem repositories, and provides a hub for chemistry education
- Baltic Chemistry Olympiad: Latvia is a founding member (BChO originated in Riga in 1993) and regular host
- Digital 2nd stage: The regional round is conducted entirely online with automated scoring
- Two-cohort system: Younger (grades 9–10) and older (grades 11–12) students compete with distinct exam sets 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 |