French National Chemistry Olympiad¶
Olympiades Nationales de la Chimie
Official Website¶
Logo¶
Overview¶
The Olympiades Nationales de la Chimie (ONC) is France's premier national chemistry competition for upper-secondary students. Founded in 1984, it has been organized continuously for over four decades, engaging more than 90,000 young people throughout its history. The ONC is jointly organized by the Société Chimique de France (SCF), the Union des Professeurs de Physique et de Chimie (UdPPC), the Ministry of National Education, and the industrial federation France Chimie, with institutional support from the Fondation Maison de la Chimie.
The competition was created to counter the declining share of chemistry in school curricula and to inspire students to pursue careers in the chemical sciences and industry. It combines rigorous scientific problem-solving with hands-on laboratory work and collaborative assessment, giving it a distinctive competency profile among national science olympiads.
Competition Format¶
The ONC is structured around two independent contests:
Concours scientifique (Scientific Contest)¶
- Eligibility: Terminale (final-year) students following the Physics-Chemistry or SPCL specialty track.
- Round 1 — Academy-level selection: Regional preparation sessions and qualifying exams are held from autumn through early spring across approximately 150 preparation centers nationwide. Each academy selects its top one or two candidates to advance. Around 3,500 students enter this stage each year.
- Round 2 — National final: Up to 36–50 finalists (numbers vary by edition) compete in a two-day national final held in May, typically in Paris or the Île-de-France region. The final includes:
- A practical laboratory exam (~4 hours) testing experimental technique and data analysis
- A collaborative exam (épreuve collaborative) — one of the most distinctive features of the French ONC — in which candidates work in groups to solve a chemistry problem
- An oral interview or group discussion assessing reasoning and clarity of expression
- Awards ceremony: Held at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, where laureates receive material prizes including scientific books, laboratory equipment, and subscriptions to L'Actualité Chimique.
Note
The collaborative exam (épreuve collaborative) is one of the most distinctive parts of the French ONC scientific final.
The scientific contest is designed not only for pure problem-solving, but also for applying chemistry to realistic contexts and communicating ideas.
This gives ONC a broader competency profile: experiment skills + conceptual mastery + collaboration/communication under evaluation conditions.
From the structure of official contest design:
- It evaluates chemistry reasoning in a context where candidates must organize ideas with others rather than only solve individually.
- It rewards scientific communication quality (clarity of argument, use of data, justification of choices) in addition to technical correctness.
- It reflects modern chemistry practice, where laboratory and industry work are commonly team-based.
Concours de communication "Parlons Chimie" (Communication Contest)¶
- Eligibility: Première (penultimate-year) students from all academic streams, working in supervised teams.
- Round 1 — Project preparation: Teams develop an outreach project on a chemistry-related societal, industrial, or local theme during the school year.
- Round 2 — National final defense: Selected teams present and defend their project before a jury of educators and industry representatives in May (typically one day), followed by the award ceremony. Around 8 teams are honored at the closing ceremony.
Competition Rounds¶
- Concours scientifique: 2 rounds
- Round 1: local academy-level preparation and selection, usually from autumn to late winter/early spring
- Round 2: national final, usually held in May (commonly over two days)
- Parlons Chimie: 2 rounds
- Round 1: project preparation and preselection during the school year
- Round 2: national final defense, usually held in May (typically one day), followed by the award ceremony
Participation¶
| Stage | Approximate Number |
|---|---|
| Students entering academy-level selection (scientific contest) | ~3,500 per year |
| Preparation centers nationwide | ~150 |
| Professors and volunteers involved | >100 |
| Finalists at national final | 36–50 (varies by edition) |
| Cumulative participants since 1984 | >90,000 |
IChO Selection¶
The ONC and the French International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) team selection are separate but complementary pathways. The IChO team is selected through a dedicated process managed by Sciences à l'École, a national organization under the Ministry of National Education.
The IChO selection process operates as follows:
- Written qualifying exam: Open to Terminale and classes préparatoires (CPGE) students. Typically 400–500 candidates sit this exam nationwide.
- Paris training camp: The top 24 scorers are invited to an intensive week-long practical and theoretical training camp, hosted at institutions such as ENS de Lyon with support from ESPCI Paris and École Polytechnique staff.
- Final team selection: 4 students are chosen to represent France at the IChO.
ONC laureates are frequently invited to participate in the IChO pre-selection tests, and the two competitions share significant overlap in content and participant pool.
History¶
- 1981: France first participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO), sending a team to the 13th IChO in Burgas, Bulgaria.
- 1984: The Olympiades Nationales de la Chimie were founded by chemistry professionals, the Ministry of National Education, the SCF, and the UdPPC.
- 1984–1990s: The competition expanded steadily across French academies, with regional preparation networks growing throughout the country.
- 2000s: The "Parlons Chimie" communication contest was introduced, broadening participation to Première students from all academic streams.
- 2018–2019: The French government designated the school year as the "Année de la Chimie, de l'école à l'université" (Year of Chemistry), providing additional institutional support for the ONC.
- 2019: France hosted the 51st IChO in Paris (July 21–30) — the first time France served as the IChO host nation.
- The ONC has grown from a small national contest into a major educational program engaging thousands of students annually, backed by leading chemical industry sponsors including Arkema, BASF, and Syensqo.
IChO Performance¶
Lifetime medal totals from the official IChO results database:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Honorable Mention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 47 | 90 | 11 |
France is a consistent mid-tier performer at the IChO, typically earning silver and bronze medals.
Student Outcomes¶
ONC laureate status is a recognized distinction that strengthens applications to France's selective higher-education pathways:
- Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE): Top ONC performers are well-positioned for admission to elite two-year preparatory programs, the primary gateway to the Grandes Écoles.
- Grandes Écoles: Former ONC and IChO participants have gone on to study at institutions such as École Polytechnique, ENS Paris, ENS de Lyon, and ESPCI Paris.
- IChO pipeline: ONC laureates are regularly invited into the IChO pre-selection process, and the IChO training camp — hosted at elite institutions like ENS Lyon — provides exposure to the Grandes Écoles ecosystem.
Past Exams Archive¶
| Year | Experiment | Collaborative |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Link | Link |
| 2024 | Link | Link |
| 2023 | Link | Link |
| 2022 | Link | Link |
| 2021 | Link | Link |
| 2020 | ||
| 2019 | Link | Link Link |
| 2018 | Link | |
| 2017 | ||
| 2016 | ||
| 2015 | Link |
Note
Official site also recommends the following 2 historical workbooks dating back to 1980s.