Latvian Chemistry Olympiad (Latvijas ķīmijas olimpiāde)

Overview

The Latvian Chemistry Olympiad is organized by the State Education Development Agency (Valsts izglītības attīstības aģentūra, 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.

Key Website

• VIAA — Chemistry Olympiad
• Mazā ķīmijas skola
• IChO results database: Latvia

Competition Format

The olympiad follows a three-tier elimination pyramid plus a dedicated IChO team-selection phase.

• School stage (Skolas posms)

  • Classroom exams designed by individual teachers
  • Open to students in grades 9–12
  • Approximately 5,000+ students participate

• Regional stage (Novada posms)

  • Online assessment, software-graded
  • Approximately 2,000–3,000 students compete

• National stage (Valsts posms)

  • A 3-day in-person event at a university in January
  • 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

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, a regional competition rotating among Baltic states.

Eligibility

Open to students in grades 9–12 enrolled in Latvian schools. Students progress through stages based on competitive scoring.

Student Outcomes

• Top performers at the national olympiad receive 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

IChO Performance

The official IChO results database lists Latvia with 3 gold, 21 silver, and 70 bronze medals, and 10 honorable mentions. Latvia has participated in every IChO since 1991 — over 35 consecutive years with no absences.

History

• 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 (Dāvis Kūlis, 25th IChO, Moscow). Latvia also participated in the first Baltic Chemistry Olympiad.
• 2008: Second IChO gold (Romans Čaplinskis, 40th IChO, Budapest).
• 2019: Third IChO gold (Gustavs Jānis Mežciems, 51st IChO, Paris).
• Present: Latvia has maintained uninterrupted IChO participation for over three decades.