Q: My school does not participate in or nominate students for competitions. What can I do? A: Several major competitions are open-entry - you or your child's enrichment centre can register directly. For school-nominated competitions, start by emailing the Math or Science HOD to ask. Some competitions also offer a private candidacy route.
TL;DR Not every school actively informs parents about olympiad and competition opportunities. Some schools send only a handful of students, and others do not participate at all. This guide explains which competitions your child can enter independently, which ones require a school nomination, and what steps you can take if your school is not involved. The good news: most of the biggest competitions in Singapore have at least one path that does not depend entirely on your school.
Why some schools do not participate
Before diving into solutions, it helps to understand why schools vary so much in competition participation.
Awareness and bandwidth. Some schools - particularly neighbourhood primaries - may not have a dedicated teacher overseeing olympiad sign-ups. Competitions are typically coordinated by the Math or Science HOD, and workload varies.
Limited nomination slots. For school-nominated competitions like NMOS and RMO, each school may only be able to send a fixed number of students (often five). Schools with large cohorts of strong students face tough internal selection.
No tradition of participation. If a school has not historically entered a particular competition, there is no institutional memory to keep the registration cycle going.
Strategic resource allocation. Some schools prioritise internal programmes (E2K, olympiad training groups) and use those as selection filters rather than entering students into external competitions broadly.
None of this means your child cannot participate. It just means you may need to take initiative.
Understanding competition types
Every major maths and science competition in Singapore falls into one of three access categories.
Open-entry competitions
Anyone can register - through a participating school, an enrichment centre, or (for some competitions) as a private candidate. Your school's involvement is helpful but not required.
SASMO - registration through schools or SIMCC-affiliated centres; private candidacy available via SIMCC
SMKC - schools or registered centres can enter students
AMC (AMC 8 / 10 / 12) - schools or registered test centres in Singapore
HKISO - open through participating schools or enrichment centres
School-nominated only
These competitions require the school to register students. Schools typically run an internal selection process, and the number of nominees per school is capped.
NMOS - run by NUS High School; schools nominate students (typically P5)
APMOPS - qualifying round is school-registered; the invitational round is by merit from the qualifying round
RMO - run by Raffles Institution; school registration only
SPSO - run by NUS Faculty of Science; school registration
RSO (Raffles Science Olympiad) - run by Raffles Institution; limited to five entrants per school, selection typically based on E2K placement or internal assessment
Competitions with a private candidate option
Some competitions that are primarily school-based also allow private candidates to register directly with the organiser.
SASMO - SIMCC offers a private candidate registration form on its website. Check simcc.org during the registration window.
For other competitions, private candidacy availability can change year to year. If you are unsure, contact the organiser directly to ask - do not assume it is unavailable just because it is not prominently advertised.
Competition access table
The table below summarises every major primary and secondary maths and science competition in Singapore, how registration works, and what to do if your school does not participate.
Note: Registration details - dates, fees and eligibility - change every cycle. Always confirm on the organiser's official website before registering.
What to do if your school does not participate
Step 1: Ask
Start by emailing your child's Math or Science Head of Department (HOD), form teacher, or Vice-Principal. A simple, polite email is often enough:
"Dear [HOD name], I understand that [competition name] registration is open to schools. Would it be possible for [school name] to register interested students this year? My child is keen to participate. Please let me know if there are any internal selection criteria or forms to complete."
Many parents on forums report that their school simply was not aware of a particular competition, and a parent's email was what prompted the school to look into it.
Step 2: Check if private candidacy is available
If your school cannot or will not register, check whether the competition allows private candidates. SASMO is the clearest example - SIMCC offers a private candidacy form. For other competitions, visit the organiser's website or email them directly. Do not assume private candidacy is unavailable just because it is not mentioned on the main page.
Step 3: Consider open-entry alternatives at a similar difficulty level
If the competition your child wants to enter is school-nominated and private candidacy is not available, look for an open-entry competition at a comparable level.
Both are open-entry science competitions that develop similar skills
Step 4: Build skills through self-study regardless
Competition access is one thing - ability is another. Even if your child cannot enter a particular competition this year, the preparation itself builds problem-solving skills that transfer to school exams, DSA interviews, and future competitions.
For school-nominated competitions like NMOS, RMO and APMOPS, schools typically follow a process like this:
The organiser invites schools - usually by email or circular to the Math/Science HOD, several months before the competition date.
The school selects students - using internal criteria. Common selection methods include performance in school exams, placement in enrichment programmes (e.g. E2K for maths, Science Olympiad Training for science), teacher recommendation, or an internal qualifying test.
The school submits the registration - with a fixed number of students. For competitions like RSO, this cap can be as low as five students per school.
Students are informed - sometimes only the selected students are told. Schools do not always announce the competition to the wider cohort.
How to maximise your child's chances of being nominated
Perform consistently in school maths and science. Internal selection is almost always tied to academic performance.
Ask to join enrichment programmes. E2K, olympiad training groups, and similar programmes are often the feeder pool for competition nominations.
Make your interest known early. Tell the HOD and form teacher that your child is interested in competitions. Teachers cannot nominate students they do not know are keen.
Build a track record in open-entry competitions. A SASMO Gold or SMKC medal shows the school that your child is competition-ready, which makes them a stronger candidate for limited nomination slots.
The neighbourhood school advantage
This may seem counterintuitive, but attending a neighbourhood school can actually work in your child's favour for school-nominated competitions.
Here is why: competitions like NMOS and RMO cap the number of students each school can send. At a popular school with a large gifted or high-ability cohort, the internal competition for those five or ten slots is fierce. Your child might be strong enough to medal at the competition but not strong enough to beat their classmates for a nomination.
At a neighbourhood school with fewer students vying for the same slots, your child faces less internal competition. If the school participates at all, the path to nomination may be more straightforward.
The caveat: the school has to participate in the first place. This is where Step 1 - asking the HOD - becomes essential. If your neighbourhood school has never entered NMOS, a parent's email might be the catalyst that starts the tradition.
Build foundations regardless of competition access
Whether or not your child enters a competition this year, the skills developed through competition preparation transfer directly to:
School exams - higher-order thinking questions in P5 - P6 maths and science papers draw on the same reasoning skills
DSA-Sec interviews - many IP schools include a problem-solving component in their DSA assessment; see How DSA Math Talent Tests Work
Secondary and IP maths - students who have practised competition-style problems in primary school find the transition to IP maths smoother
Future competitions - a strong foundation in P5 - P6 sets your child up for SMO and AMC at secondary level
No. NMOS registration is handled through schools. NUS High School invites schools to nominate students, and there is no public registration form for individual candidates. Your best option is to ask your school's Math HOD to register your child. If your school does not participate, focus on open-entry competitions like SASMO and SMKC to build a track record.
Why does my school not participate in competitions?
Common reasons include limited teacher bandwidth, lack of awareness about specific competitions, no tradition of participation, or a deliberate focus on internal enrichment programmes instead. It is rarely a reflection on your child's ability. A polite inquiry to the HOD is the best first step.
Will private candidacy results count for DSA?
Yes. DSA-Sec panels assess competition results based on the award level, not how the student registered. A SASMO Gold earned as a private candidate carries the same weight as one earned through a school. What matters is the medal, not the registration route. See How Math Olympiad Awards Boost DSA Applications for more detail.
How do I convince my school to participate in a competition?
Frame it as low effort for the school and high benefit for students. Offer to help with logistics - collecting registration forms, liaising with parents, sharing the organiser's information pack. If you can show that several parents are interested, the HOD is more likely to act. Starting with an open-entry competition like SASMO (which requires minimal coordination) is easier than asking the school to enter a more complex competition for the first time.
Are open-entry competitions less prestigious than school-nominated ones?
Not necessarily. SASMO and SMKC are international competitions with tens of thousands of participants across Asia. AMC is a globally recognised benchmark used for university admissions in the United States. What makes school-nominated competitions like NMOS and APMOPS more selective is the smaller participant pool and the multi-round format - but open-entry competitions are widely recognised and respected in DSA portfolios, especially when your child achieves Gold or above.
What if my child is homeschooled?
Homeschooled students can enter open-entry competitions (SASMO, SMKC, AMC, Vanda, HKISO) through enrichment centres that serve as registration points. For school-nominated competitions, homeschooled students generally cannot participate unless they are enrolled in a school that handles the registration. Check directly with the organiser - some competitions may make exceptions or offer alternative registration paths.
Can my child enter competitions from a different school?
No. For school-nominated competitions, the registration must come from the school your child is enrolled in. You cannot ask another school to nominate your child. For open-entry competitions, registration through any participating centre is usually acceptable regardless of which school your child attends.
My child missed the registration window. What now?
Competition registration windows are typically short - sometimes just two to four weeks. If your child missed this year's window, mark the approximate dates for next year (see our Singapore Maths and Science Competition Calendar) and set a reminder. In the meantime, focus on building skills through practice and entering other competitions whose registration is still open.
Competition registration details, fees, formats and eligibility change every year. Always verify information on the organiser's official website before registering. This guide is accurate as of the publication date and is provided for informational purposes only.
