13th Singapore Astronomy Olympiad 2026

The Singapore Astronomy Olympiad (SAO) is a national competition on Astronomy and Astrophysics organised with the intent to select candidates to represent Singapore in the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)

Sign up link: https://tinyurl.com/SAO2026

Administrative Details
Round 1 (open to all students under 20)
Date: 9 March 2026, Monday
Time: 16:00 – 18:00 hrs
Venue: Administered in your school, or at the centralised testing facility
Format: Computerised quiz with 50 Multiple Choice questions

Round 2 (by invitation only)
Date: 14 March 2026, Saturday
Time: 08:00 – 16:30 hrs
Venue: Hwa Chong Institution (tentative)
Format: Details will be disclosed to finalists in the invitation email for Round 2

Participation in the SAO is open to students who meet all of the following criteria:
● They must be under 20 years of age as of 1 July;
● They must attend a full-time programme at a school in Singapore;
and
● They must not have exceeded Grade 12 or its equivalent.
Preparatory Resources
Free revision resources and past papers: Revision resources such as past
papers and astronomy notes can be found on the Astronomy.SG website.

Results of the 12th SAO

This year, the SAO saw a record number of 233 participants. The results of the 12th SAO 2025 have officially released, and the list of prize winners may be found at the SAO Hall of Fame (click here to view the full list of prize winners). Congratulations to all prize winners!

All prize winners have also been notified via email regarding the details of the prize presentation ceremony – please look out for an email from the organisers!

We hope that this year’s edition of the SAO has been a fruitful learning experience for all participants, and we hope to see you at next year’s SAO!

IOAA Selection

The top five students from the SAO will be invited to represent Singapore at the 18th IOAA in Mumbai, India. Please note that, according to the organisers of the IOAA, only Singaporean citizens and permanent residents are eligible to represent the country at the event.

Singapore has a long history of participation in the IOAA. We have won awards at every edition we participated in and bagged 4 Gold and 1 Bronze medals at the latest edition in 2025.

IOAA 2025

Congratulations to Team Singapore for their record-breaking performance at the recently-concluded 18th IOAA at Mumbai, India!

Five students from Singapore clinched four gold medals and a bronze at an international Olympiad for astronomy and astrophysics – the country’s best performance in nearly 20 years.

The annual International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, held this year in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, attracted nearly 300 students from over 60 countries. It ran from Aug 11 to Aug 21.

This year, Raffles Institution students Teo Kai Wen, and Lan Shuheng Jerry, and NUS High School students Eng Cheng Le, Ruhan Tasneem Shafa, and Wang Jun Min, 15. represented Singapore at the 18th IOAA.

Read about their achievement in IOAA 2025 on Straits Times and ZaoBao!

Photo credit: Mr Yuen Xiang Hao, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science