Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF), is a very well-reputed organisation conducting competitive exams (Olympiad exams) for classes 1 - 12, in six subjects. Out of these, I attempted three - International English Olympiad (IEO), International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO), and National Science Olympiad (NSO).

Before I share my results, I would like to share what I learnt and what I discovered about myself.

I have been attempting these exams ever since I was in grade 6, but this year was actually a serious attempt in the examinations. I strived to score high in the examination, and I planned a structured method of studying especially for the Olympiads. This plan was laid in such a way that I had at least a month before my examinations, so that I could prepare properly. This is the reason why my school's syllabus too, got completed within October 2025, providing a time of 4 months before my Annual Class 10 Examinations. I could utilise the time of 1 month productively and without wasting even a single day (not that I waste my time on the regular).


Even though I planned everything, preparing for the Science Olympiad was not easy - it was difficult, and mainly because of the out-of-syllabus stuff. I had to spend more than 50% of my time trying to figure out what was not in the syllabus, and I honestly don't blame myself for it. I was confident with the CBSE syllabus, but the exam revealed that syllabus mastery alone is not sufficient for Olympiad-style questions. So, I knew I didn't have to worry about scoring less in case of out-of-syllabus stuff, because that was practically impossible to cover.

Next, English. A language containing millions of words (though this might sound exaggerating), countless phrasal verbs, and indefinite number of idioms with meanings for each crazily unpredictable! And for this reason, I didn't worry much about scoring in English, but I put in all the effort I could, by solving the workbook and noting down all new words, phrases, idioms, and whatnot, ensuring I know everything I have encountered. The English Olympiad made it clear that vocabulary-based questions depend heavily on prior exposure rather than systematic preparation.. On the other hand, grammar and reading comprehension were non-excusable. Thanks to my amazing grip over English Grammar, I could answer 100% of the grammatical part correctly. So, whatever marks I lost or questions I couldn't answer were purely new words from an immeasurable lexicon and idioms from crazy old Englishmen.

Finally, Mathematics. A subject with only numbers and no cases of questions being out-of-syllabus - well, because it's math. I prepared perfectly for the examination, by solving workbooks and as many previous year question papers as I could in the limited time. No complaints about this lovely subject. (Science is lovely too, unless the questions are out-of-syllabus.)

Key Takeaways

In this section, I would like to mention my key takeaways from my attempts in the examinations:

  1. Fear of the exam itself is my greatest foe.
    I say this, because even though I was able to solve all questions in PYQs and workbooks effortlessly at home, that too with the exact time-limits, I struggled to focus on the questions and solutions during the examination due to fear of failing.

  2. Though this sounds counter-intuitive, the less I care about the exam, the better I perform.
    Please don't get me wrong. I don't intend to suggest being ignorant towards exams. All I want to say is, the less I care about the result during the exam day, provided you have prepared completely and to my satisfaction, the better I perform DURING the exam.

  3. More than the questions themselves, the exams are about testing performance under time-pressure. So, I have to cultivate the skill of being able to juggle time-limits and perform calmly.
    This issue seriously calls for meditation to keep calm during tense situations like this. I now realize the importance of meditation.

  4. Silly mistakes.
    I have lost 4 marks each in Maths and Science where I knew the answer and could solve the questions, but I MARKED the wrong option due to tension and being overwhelmed. This cost me significantly, especially in an examination where every single mark counts and distinguishes you from other students (not that I'm comparing myself with others).

  5. Adapting to few discomforts in the examination hall/environment.
    This is not a common issue, but the examination conditions in which students of my class were made to sit in were not professional and fair. Though this seems strange, this is true - classes went on as we wrote the examination, invigilators didn't take their job seriously (many students copied, discussed answers and wrote), and even the seating arrangements weren't proper (we were made to sit on the floor). While this point feels like a rant, it is not. It is true, and keeping the hall conditions perfect would have improved my performance at least a little.
    Even though this is not an issue because of my fault, I feel that I have to inculcate the skill of focusing so strongly that other environmental distractions do not overcome my tasks.


Next Steps

Now that I have identified this stuff from this attempt, I have to work on improving this so that I do not face the same issues the next time.

  1. Meditate - To improve calmness and handle time-pressure effectively
  2. Worry less about new topics and focus on strengthening known ones when time is less than a week.
  3. Communicate with the invigilator(s) to provide proper examination environment prior to the examination itself, to avoid problems. This skill is an important social one, which is essential for me to be able to excel at all junctures in life, especially during important interactions with my peers, guides or mentors.
  4. Be more alert and attentive - while this sounds easy to say, this requires a calm and peaceful mind, which, again, calls for meditation.

These are a few points that I must start working on to enhance my performance in my future attempts.


Now that I have analysed my shortcomings during the examinations and have plotted a plan to overcome them, I feel ready to share my results.

International English Olympiad:


International Mathematics Olympiad:


National Science Olympiad:


By and large, I am satisfied about my performance, though it needs improvements and enhancements as mentioned above. Though I could analyse my shortcomings only a week before this post, I aim to work on them consistently and therefore improve my performance in the second level of NSO and IMO, which would be held on 8th Feb 2026. All the best to me!