Singapore Primary Science Olympiad (SPSO) — 2025/26 Parent & Student Guide
Download printable cheat-sheet (CC-BY 4.0)15 Jul 2025, 00:00 Z
TL;DR
SPSO is a one-round, 50-mark theory contest for Primary 5 pupils organised by NUS High School of Mathematics and Science every year since 2009. Schools register candidates in March → the paper is sat on campus in late June. Results (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Merit, Honours) ship to schools by mid-July; top scorers are also named Top Girl and the Top 20 School Teams. No negative marking, but Section B's 2-mark items demand multi-statement reasoning. Early mastery of multi-concept MCQs gives future IP students a head-start in Physics and research interviews.
1 SPSO at a glance
Item | 2025 specification |
Organiser | NUS High School of Mathematics and Science【NUSHigh-About SPSO】 |
First run | 2009 |
Eligibility | Primary 5 pupils (only) nominated by their schools[NUSHigh-FAQ] |
Paper format | 40 questions, 50 marks: Section A 30 × 1 mark • Section B 10 × 2 marks【NUSHigh-SampleQ】 |
Syllabus | Upper-primary science spiralled with basic data handling & proportional reasoning |
Language | English |
Marking | No penalties for wrong answers |
Awards | Gold • Silver • Bronze • Merit • Honours Certificate; Top Performing Girl; Top 20 Schools【NUSHigh-Awards】 |
2 Why parents of IP-bound pupils should care
- Early Olympiad literacy - SPSO questions blend life, physical & earth science. That cross-topic fluidity mirrors Integrated-Programme Physics where mechanics, electricity and data analysis collide.
- School-endorsed recognition - medals appear on direct-school-admission (DSA-Sec) and talent-development portfolios, signalling curiosity and grit even if DSA points are not formally attached.
- Bridging to NMO∑ & NJSO - top Primary 5 scorers often progress to NMOS (math) or Junior Science Olympiads in lower secondary, extending the competitive head-start.
3 Timeline (2025 edition)
Window | Milestone | Evidence |
10 Mar - 7 Apr | School registration portal open | SPF (School Portal Form) dates on registration page【NUSHigh-Reg】 |
29 Jun 2025 (Sat) | SPSO paper conducted on school premises | Schedule notice [NUSHigh-Info2025] |
mid-Jul 2025 | Results & certificates released to schools | Awards announcement PDF[NUSHigh-Awards] |
Jul - Aug | NUS High invites medalists to outreach events | Past event photos; exact 2025 invite list TBC |
Tip for parents: confirm your child's school deadline - many collect names 2-3 weeks before the official close to process fees and invigilator lists.
4 Inside the 40-question paper
4.1 Section A - 30 quick-fire MCQs (1 mark each)
Focus: direct recall and single-step reasoning (e.g. reading a bar graph of temperature vs time).
4.2 Section B - 10 two-mark “statement” MCQs
Each stem gives four statements; candidates shade 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on which statements are correct - a miniature practice for A-Level data-response logic.
4.3 No negative marking
Pupils should attempt every blank once time permits - teach systematic elimination strategies.
\[ \text{Total marks} = 30 \times 1 + 10 \times 2 = 50 \]
5 Scoring & awards
- The raw 50-mark script is scaled and ranked nationally.
- NUS High neither publishes cut-off scores nor medal percentages.
- Certificates are printed with holographic seals; Gold, Silver, Bronze & Merit also list the pupil's school.
- Special accolades: Top Performing Girl and plaques for the Top 20 Schools based on aggregated team score【NUSHigh-Awards】.
6 Preparation roadmap (T-4 months → T-0)
Phase | Focus | Sample activity |
Mar (T-4) | Reinforce upper-primary syllabus | Re-read cells, cycles, matter, forces |
Apr (T-3) | Timed Section A drills | 15 MCQs in 15 min, self-mark |
May (T-2) | Section B statement logic | Use prior SPSO papers: label True/False before shading option |
Jun (T-1) | Full 40-Q mocks | Two complete papers under exam seating |
Final week | Stamina & error audit | Redo only wrong questions; sleep ≥ 9 h |
Anecdote: Gold medalists surveyed by NUS High in 2023 reported ≤ 4 complete papers and daily 30-min bursts as their main prep, not marathon cramming.
7 Link to Integrated-Programme tuition
Integrated-Programme Physics & Math classes can exploit SPSO style items to:
- Drill unit-conversion fluency early.
- Practise graph reading & interpolation (a perennial SPSO Section B task).
- Cultivate multi-discipline curiosity - SPSO photosynthesis-meets-thermodynamics prompts parallel A-Level cross-topic questions.
Eclat's IP micro-classes splice one SPSO or NMOS stem into each Term 1 worksheet, building contest muscle alongside core curriculum.
8 Further reading
9 Call-to-action
Parents: Check with your child's science head before the end of Term 1 to keep in mind the necessary registration details. Students: Try out the SPSO sample questions
Last updated 15 Jul 2025. Next refresh when the 2026 SPSO circular is released.