How to write CREST Olympiad exams?

If you are a student and are willing to appear for the CREST olympiad exams, this is a must read article for you. You must have plenty of questions running in your mind about its pattern, eligibility, syllabus etc. Then you’re at the right place!

This blog will give you detailed information about every aspect and clear your doubts. 

We must all be aware of the popular known CREST Olympiad exams, but those who don’t this article will leave you with full knowledge about this exam. 

What are CREST OLYMPIADS?

CREST Olympiads is the World’s Largest Online Olympiad Exam, which is conducted for students from Classes Nursery to 12. The CREST Olympiad exam's main objective is to enhance the student's conceptual knowledge rather than theoretical knowledge. CREST Olympiad is one of the most popularly known exams held every year. 

Here’s the list of CREST Olympiads exams conducted:

Who is eligible for participating in CREST Olympiads? 

  • The CREST Olympiad is an international competitive examination conducted every year through online mode. 
  • Students from across the world are eligible to participate in the examination. 
  • Students of classes Nursery to 12 are to participate in this examination. The exam is conducted only in English.
  • Students from 60+ countries take part in CREST Olympiads.
  • Since the mode of examination is online. Students willing to participate in this examination must have a laptop, desktop or tablet (screen larger than 11.5 inches; not a mobile phone) with a webcam and proper internet connection. 

How to register for CREST Olympiads?

Students who are studying from Nursery to 12 are eligible to participate in the level 1 examination while qualifying students of classes Nursery to 10 are eligible for Level 2 English, Maths, and Science examination. 

Students can register for the CREST Olympiads as an individual participant or through their respective schools.

  • Registration for participating in CREST Olympiads are done both by schools and individually. 
  • CREST Olympiads encourages and motivates students to go for more individual registration.
  • Students from classes Nursery to 12 are eligible to participate in CREST Olympiads.
  • A prospectus containing the registration forms is sent to all schools registered with CREST Olympiads.
  • If your school is not registered with us, then you just have to send an email to info@crestolympiads.com and you’ll receive the prospectus soon. 
  • After you fill the registration form and submit them to the school authorities, it becomes mandatory for schools to return the registration forms to CREST Olympiads, duly filled in and complete in all respects by the due date.
  • The registration fee for each subject is Rs. 275 for students studying and enrolling from India. Whereas for students studying and residing outside of India, the fee is $15.
  • Students willing to participate in CREST Olympiads can register individually on the CREST Olympiads registration page.

What is the syllabus of CREST Olympiads? 

  • CREST Olympiad exam syllabus covers all the topics included in the school curriculum of CBSE, ICSE, IB and other state boards. 
  • The topics covered in the examination helps to level up essential skills required for students in their career ahead. 
  • CREST Olympiad exams are designed to sharpen students' aptitude skills, thinking skills, innovative skills, English listening skills, reasoning skills and most importantly making them ready for future competitions. 
  • Syllabus varies for different courses and classes. 
  • You can see the Olympiad syllabus in detail for classes Nursery to 12 in different subjects on the CREST syllabus page.

Understanding the pattern 

  • As discussed above the syllabus of the exam is mostly the same as the school syllabus but the standard and difficulty level of questions is increased and is especially aimed at assessing the advanced level understanding of these concepts.
  • CMO, CSO, CEO, CSB and CMMO are conducted in 2 levels. 
  • CRO, CCO, CSBW, CIDO and IGWO are conducted in only 1 level. 
  • The examination is divided into various levels, covering the objective-type tests that should be completed in 60 minutes (45 minutes for Nursery, Junior KG and Senior KG).
  • For CMO, CSO, CEO, CCO and CRO, it consists of two sections - the practical section, and the achiever's section. 
  • The examination contains questions framed from the CBSE, ICSE/ISC, and other state board syllabus.
  • To know the pattern of the questions one should practice enough sample papers. This also helps you to manage your time during the examination. 
  • Sample papers always provide you with a rich question bank and model tests prepared with exact similar patterns of exams. 
  • CREST Olympiads provides 2 practice tests (the first one is a free trial) before the actual examination. 
  • To check CREST Olympiads exams sample papers for grades Nursery to 12, visit the CREST sample papers page.

CREST Olympiads Exam Schedule 

  • All the CREST Olympiad exams will be held between 11 am to 7 pm IST as per the students' slot. The schedule may change under exceptional circumstances.
  • Students book their exam slot from the dates and times given in the exam schedule. 
  • You can check the exam schedule for various Olympiad exams on the CREST exam schedule page.

What is the ranking criteria for CREST Olympiads?

  • CREST Olympiads are held on different days and sessions with different sets of question papers.
  •  The final ranks are announced on the basis of normalization of the ranks for each session.

The ranking criteria for the final exam of CREST Olympiads (Level 1 for single-level exams, Level 2 for two-level exams) in case of tie marks are,

  • Priority 1: For Level 2 exams, marks scored in the Level 1 exam.
  • Priority 2: Students who have completed the test in less time will be ranked higher.
  • Priority 3: The younger student, based on the date of birth, will be ranked higher. 

Note: Cases where 2 or more students score the same marks under all the above criteria above, they will be awarded the same rank.

Get more details on the CREST cut-off and ranking criteria page.

Awards and preparation tips for the Examination 

For students of classes 2-12, the awards are based on the final exam (Level 1 for the Cyber, Reasoning, Spell Bee Winter, Drawing and Green Warrior Olympiads; Level 2 for the English, Science, Mathematics, Mental Maths and Spell Bee Summer exams), and the CREST Olympiad awards and recognition is as follows:

  • Top 25% of students will be awarded a merit certificate.
  • Top 10% of students will be awarded a medal (gold, silver or bronze, based on percentile) and a merit certificate.
  • Top 3 students registered from every school with more than 25 participants in a class appearing for the CREST Olympiad exam will be awarded a gold medal and a merit certificate.
  • Overall top 3 students globally of each class and subject will be awarded the merit certificate and the achiever's trophy.
  • Digital certificate to every participant.

The other CREST Olympiad awards and recognition are as follows:

  • Students of classes 2-12 who qualify for level 2 exams and are not in the bottom 10% in level 2 are awarded at least an 'Honourable Mention' digital certificate.
  • Students of Nursery to Class 1 who score 60% or more in the final exam will be awarded a Star Medal and a merit certificate.
  • Students of classes 2-12 in the top 25-50% are awarded an 'Honourable Mention' digital certificate.
  • Digital certificate to every participant.
  • If a student meets two or more criteria, then they will qualify for a higher award.

For complete details, see the CREST awards and recognition page.

How to prepare for the CREST Olympiads?

  • Students should select the accurate preparation material for the examination as it plays a crucial role in the examination.
  • Students must always go over books or materials that give full coverage of the syllabus and attempt as many questions as you can on each topic. 
  • Students can take online classes for CREST Olympiads to boost up their preparation. 
  • One of the most prestigious online preparation platforms for Olympiad exams is Olympiad Success. This platform provides you with Live Olympiad classes for Olympiad Exam Preparation in Maths, Science, English & Reasoning for grades 1-10. To know more, see the Olympiad Success live classes page.
  • Another alternative can be practicing workbooks as they cover topic wise explanations along with exercises for each topic that are designed with the exact same pattern of the exam. You can purchase these workbooks from the CREST Workbooks page.

Note: You can refer the given video link for complete guide on how to give CREST Olympiads exam. Check it here: https://youtu.be/emA4B8s3ehs

For more practice, see the CREST previous year papers and free study material for every class.