How the olympiad year usually runs
In India, most olympiads follow the school year, which runs roughly from April to March. That shapes the whole calendar, because most school olympiads are organised through schools rather than by families on their own: the school signs up, collects names and holds the exam on its own premises.
April to August: registration
Schools usually announce olympiads soon after the new session begins. Registration typically runs through the summer, and for many school olympiads it closes around July or August. The notice usually comes home through the class teacher, the school diary or a school app.
If your child’s school doesn’t take part in a particular olympiad, the organiser’s own website explains whether there is another way to sit it. It is worth checking this early, because late registration is often not possible.
October to February: school-based exams
The first round of most school olympiads is written in school, sometimes on a date the school picks from a few options the organiser offers. Most of these exams fall between October and December, with some running into January and February. Results usually follow a few weeks or months later, and second rounds for top scorers, where an olympiad has them, often come early in the new calendar year.
The senior pathway, in its own months
The national olympiad pathway in maths and science, the route that leads to the international olympiads, runs on its own timetable. Its first stages are written at exam centres rather than in school, usually in the second half of the year, and each stage feeds the next through winter and spring, with training camps for the small number who go furthest. Registration for these opens and closes on its own dates, often well before school olympiad season, so families following this route usually keep a separate list.
Planning a year without overload
A little planning in April saves a lot of stress in November.
- Choose early. Decide which olympiads are worth sitting when the school notices arrive, not when the exams are close.
- Keep the number small. For most students, one or two olympiads a year, prepared properly, teach more than five sat in a rush. Each extra paper takes a morning, plus the weeks before it.
- Look for clashes with school exams. In many schools, half-yearly exams fall in September or October, and pre-boards in Classes 10 and 12 fall in the winter. An olympiad in the same fortnight usually gets less than it deserves.
- Leave room for festivals and holidays. Autumn and winter are full of family events. A plan that ignores them won’t survive contact with Diwali.
- Write the dates down on a family calendar as soon as the school confirms them, including registration deadlines.
- Plan rest after each exam. A few easy days after an olympiad matter as much as the weeks before it.
The olympiad prep guide has ideas for a weekly routine at each age, and the class pages, such as Class 5 or Class 10, suggest how much preparation is realistic for each year.
Where exact dates live
Dates change every year, and sometimes within a year. The table below shows the months each olympiad usually falls in, based on past years, as a guide only. For an exact date, check the organiser’s own website. For a school olympiad, also check with your child’s school, which often sets the day. Each olympiad’s page on the olympiads hub links its organiser’s site.