National Mathematical Olympiad of Singapore (NMOS) — 2026 Parent & Student Survival Guide

TL;DR
NMOS is the Primary 5 maths contest that feeds gifted programmes, DSA shortlists and eventually Integrated Programme (IP) maths classes. Round 1 is a 25 problem multiple-choice paper for all P5 pupils; the top ≈3 % advance to a Special Round of 15 short-answer problems. Medals are benchmarked to fixed percentile cutoffs and not curved by school type. One disciplined 10-week drill plan plus timely registration (usually April) positions any high-ability kid for Gold contention.

1 What exactly is NMOS? (facts & origin)

• Organiser — The NUS High School of Mathematics and Science Gifted Education branch runs NMOS under the Ministry of Education's Gifted Education Programme (GEP) wing.
• Target cohort — Only Primary 5 pupils enrolled in MOE schools may enter; no P4 or independent candidates.
• Aims — Stretch high-ability learners, seed long-term Olympiad talent and identify pupils who may benefit from future IP-style acceleration tracks.
• Typical timeline —
  • Registration window: early Apr → early May
  • Round 1: mid-Jul (2 h, 25 MCQ)
  • Special Round: late Aug (1 h 30 min, 15 short-answer)
  • Award ceremony: Oct-Nov

Exact dates vary yearly and are published in the Rules & Regulations PDF emailed to participating schools.

2 Competition format at a glance

Participants enter Special Round only by invitation (≈ top 3 % of national cohort). The two scores are independent; medals depend solely on Round 1 percentile while trophies depend on combined totals.

3 Award structure & cut-offs

The exact break-points are fixed before scripts are marked (not curved later), mirroring international contests such as AMC or SASMO.

Team awards go to the three highest-scoring pupils from the same school, encouraging depth rather than breadth.

4 Why NMOS matters for the Integrated Programme (IP)

1. DSA leverage — Several IP schools (e.g. NUS High, Hwa Chong, Raffles, RI) list “NMOS Gold or Special Round finalist” as an automatic qualifier for Mathematics talent trials.
2. Proof of contest pedigree — IP Year 1 teachers often fast-track NMOS medalists into Olympiad CCA groups that later funnel into SMO Junior.
3. Concept head-start — NMOS papers already use algebraic manipulation, modular arithmetic and constructive counting that reappear in Sec 2 Accelerated Math and IP Year 3 number theory units.

5 10-week grade-jump plan (Gold-or-bust edition)

Past-year PDFs are purchasable from the NUS High bookshop or found in selected school libraries; answer keys are released one year late.

6 Quick tips for Round 1 day

• Pack light — no calculator, no watch with data link, only HB pencil & eraser (strict invigilation).
• Time budget — 2 h = 8-9 Q per 30 min. Mark skips clearly and revisit.
• Estimation first — many MCQ distractors differ only by factor 2; sanity-check before arithmetic.
• Zero penalty — leaving blanks never hurts the percentile, but try a guess if < 3 min remain.

7 Parents' FAQ

Q1 : Does NMOS success guarantee IP admission?
No, but Gold + glowing Maths teacher reference scores high DSA points. Schools still weigh interview performance and overall academics.

Q2 : Can P4 prodigies sit unofficially?
Officially forbidden; scripts will be voided at moderation.

Q3 : What if our school does not field a team?
Contact the NMOS secretariat; a limited number of “independent seats” are allocated each year via principal endorsement.

8 Further reading

• NMOS FAQ — NUS High
• NMOS About page
• Complete NMOS registration guide
• MOE Integrated Programme overview
• How DSA Math talent tests work
• Spark Education — Contest medal cut-offs
• CHIJ OLQP Olympiad results page
• YouTube — NMOS information session

Last updated 05 Aug 2025. Next refresh after NMOS 2026 Rules & Regulations release.