The Dutch Mathematical Olympiad is an annual mathematics competition for students in secondary education. Students at international schools in the Netherlands may also participate; students outside the Netherlands may not. Any student at a level comparable to 1-5 havo/vwo in the Dutch system, can take part in the first round. This is held in January at all participating schools. The playful but challenging problems test creativity and mathematical insight. The problems of the first round are partly multiple choice and partly questions for which a number must be provided as answer. The problems are available in Dutch and English.
Participation in the Olympiad is recommended for all students in havo/vwo 3-5 who are enjoy mathematics. However, talented students in lower grades can certainly also enjoy the competition. Students in the final year of high school are excluded from participation because the final round takes place in the following school year.
The approximately 800 best students will be invited to the second round in March. These winners of the first round come from three categories: havo/vwo 5 (comparable to year 1 of the IB Diploma Programme), havo/vwo 4 (comparable to year 5 of the Middle Years Programme), and lower grades. Students from lower grades need fewer points to advance to the second round than students from havo/vwo 4, who in turn need fewer points than students from havo/vwo 5. (The problems are the same for all three categories.)
The approximately 130 best students from the second round (again in three categories) will proceed to the final round, which will take place in September. From the winners of the final round eventually the teams are selected that represent the Netherlands at three international mathematical contests. Students are only eligible for such a team if they have a good command of the Dutch language.
More information about these competition rounds can be found on the page Overzicht rondes (in Dutch). More information about the international competition rounds and the training and selection of the Dutch teams can be found on the page Internationale rondes (also in Dutch).
School prizes
In addition to the individual prizes, there are also school prizes (see the competition rules (in Dutch) for the exact criteria):
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The best school overall: the ranking is based on the sum of the scores of the best two students in each of the three categories.
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The school with the best young students: the ranking is based on the som of the scores of the five best students in the third category (havo/vwo 3 or below).
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The school with the best girls: the ranking is based on the sum of the scores of the two best female students in each of the three categories.
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The best new school: the ranking is the same as for the best school overall; however, only schools that have only started participating in the current year or one or two years earlier (and have never participated before, or at least not for three consecutive years) are eligible.
Each of these winning schools receives a certificate for the school and trophies for the five or six students whose scores contributed to winning the relevant ranking. In addition, the competition leader receives an invitation for the award ceremony in November, where the official cup is handed over for one year.
Organising the first round at your school
Organising the first round involves the following. As competition leader, you are our contact person. Together with the other mathematics teachers at your school, you recruit students for whom the Mathematical Olympiad is an enjoyable challenge. You choose a time within the two-week competition period and arrange for rooms and invigilators. Approximately one week before the start of the competion period, the contest materials will be made available on the secure competition website. Afterwards, you will check the answers (only the four open questions with a numerical answer) and enter the results on the competition website.
The further course of events and deadlines can be found in the timetable (in Dutch). For tips on recruiting students, see the bottom of this page. The subsequent rounds will take place at the universities. You do not need to organise anything at school for this. The students will only need to be given time off from school on the relevant afternoon.
Participation in the first round is free of charge for both the participating students and the participating schools. All the detailed rules regarding participation can be found in the competition rules (in Dutch).
At the beginning of October, each school will receive a package from SLO containing posters and flyers for all science Olympiads, including the Mathematical Olympiad. If you have not received the package or would like more posters or flyers, please contact our
Registration
Registration takes place via our competition website. When registering, you do not yet need to register the students who will be participating in the first round; it is easiest to do this afterwards when entering the results.
If you already created an account in previous years, then log in to the competition website with your username and password. Your username is the email address you used when you created the account. You can then indicate which school you are the competition leader for.
If you have not been a competition leader before, you can create a new account. To do so, you will need your school's BRIN code. The school details are already in the system. As competition leader, you can enter your name and contact details.
You can check which schools you are currently registered as a competition leader for via the School details page on the competition website.
Please do not hesitate to
Recruiting students
To recruit students, you can use the information package (in Dutch) sent by SLO on behalf of the joint Olympiads. The package consists of a poster for the classroom and a concise brochure with information aimed at teachers. There is also a video available in which students who are training for the international competitions share their experiences.
You can occasionally give students a problem from a previous first round in class. This will help you identify enthusiastic students. You can also ask the school management to write an official letter to personally invite students with high marks to the first round. Students will feel honoured!
Don't forget the students in the lower grades. They too can enjoy the Maths Olympiad and need fewer points to qualify. Moreover, the ultimate winners in the upper grades often turn out to be students who were encouraged to participate a few years earlier in the lower grades at school.
Students who enjoy preparing for the competition can get started with old first rounds. There is also special training material available (in Dutch). Finally, take a look at the tips from colleagues (in Dutch) on how to get students excited about the Olympiad.
Turn the competition into a party!
Various schools provide drinks and snacks for the participants during the competition. This makes participation even more special. Some competition leaders also arrange prizes for the participants, for example for the best student in each category. You could also organise an award ceremony at school, for example with representatives from the school management. After a few weeks, it will also be known which students will advance to the next round at the university, which is all the more reason to celebrate.
Students in the final year of high school cannot officially participate in the competition because the final round does not take place until the following school year. But they can, of course, compete for fun. The school may then also offer a prize for the best such student.
Olympiad School
Several dozen schools in the Netherlands are officially designated Olympiad Schools. Olympiad Schools encourage their students to participate in various science Olympiads, give the Olympiads a structural place within the learning process and devote considerable attention to them in their communications. For more information and to apply for the Olympiad quality mark, visit the SLO website (in Dutch).