UKChO evidence desk
News & study guides
Source-led updates on UK Chemistry Olympiad results, registration, official resources and preparation practice. Dated facts are separated from evergreen study guidance.
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UKChO and the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge: How the Two UK Chemistry Competitions Fit Into One Year
UKChO sits in January, the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge in June. Different organisers, different papers, and two Golds that are not the same currency.
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UKChO 2027 Has Two Calendars: The RSC Dates and the China-Sitting Dates, Side by Side
UKChO 2027 registration opens 16 September 2026 and closes 11 January 2027 on both routes. The RSC lists Round 1 on Thursday 21 January 2027 for UK schools; the China-region sitting, per the organising channel’s date-change notice, runs Friday 22 January – one day later. Two calendars, one shared deadline – here is how to…
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The Skill UKChO Really Tests: Doing Chemistry on Substances You Have Never Met
UKChO questions are built around substances most entrants have never seen. The paper is closed-book but open-content – here is the five-move protocol for a stem you do not know.
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UKChO Thermodynamics and Energetics: Hess Cycles, Born-Haber and Free Energy Without Sign Errors
Thermodynamics is where UKChO hides some of its most reliable marks and its most expensive sign errors. How to build enthalpy cycles and free-energy arguments that survive marking.
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What the UKChO Examiners’ Report Reveals: Where the 2026 Field Actually Lost Marks
The examiners’ report is not the mark scheme. It records where 17,241 students lost marks on the 2026 paper – and the pattern is arithmetic hygiene, not hard chemistry.
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UKChO Is Now a Year 12 Competition: 64% of the 2026 Field, and What It Means for 2027
Year 12 students were 64% of the 2026 UKChO field and Year 13 only 33%. The paper has been rebalanced toward them. What that means for a Grade 11 entry in 2027.
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Why the UKChO Gold Boundary Jumped to 38 – and What Score You Should Actually Target
The UKChO Gold boundary moved 30, then 29, then 38 across three seasons while the share winning Gold barely moved. What sets the number, and what to target instead.
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How Far Does UKChO Actually Go? The Ladder From Round 1 to the International Team
From 17,241 candidates to about 30 places at Nottingham. What each rung of the ladder demands, what the funnel looks like in numbers, and where eligibility has to be checked.
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Your School Has Never Entered UKChO: How to Build the Case and What to Confirm First
Round 1 is sat in schools, so the unit of entry is your school, not you. The arithmetic that makes the ask small, the questions to settle, and what to do if the answer is no.
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UKChO Equilibrium and Acid-Base: Turning Kc, Ka and Titration Curves Into Marks
Equilibrium questions are won at the setup stage, not the arithmetic. The five constants worth drilling, when you may neglect x, and how to read a titration curve as data.