During the year, Russian schoolchildren earned 34 gold medals at international olympiads

Every third child participates in competitions

More than a third of Russian schoolchildren annually participate in Olympiads. Russian Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov spoke about this. Of course, these are Olympiads of different levels, from municipal and regional to international. But, by and large, the numbers are impressive: about 7 million schoolchildren are involved in the Olympiad movement in Russia.

Where and what kind of medals Russian schoolchildren received in the arenas of international intellectual competitions, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova specified. She noted that since 2000, our children have earned 468 gold medals at international Olympiads. A Walk of Fame was opened at VDNKh for the most outstanding achievements.

“And 2023 was no exception; out of 43 medals, 34 of the highest, highest, gold value, turned out to be Russian,” noted the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government.

As you know, a student from Russia is strong in mathematics and IT. But not only – at the Natural Science Olympiad held in Bangkok at the end of 2023, the team from Russia earned 6 gold medals. Moreover, it was “six out of six” – each member of the Russian team won gold.

Russian schoolchildren also performed well at the 53rd International Physics Olympiad, which was held in Tokyo. The Russians received 5 gold medals. The competition was the highest: the Olympiad is considered the most prestigious competitive competition for young high school physicists on the planet. Teams from 80 countries took part in it, including the USA, China and Japan, of course.

No one is used to the victories of schoolchildren from Russia at mathematical Olympiads, but this does not mean that the victories are less glorious. At the 64th International Mathematical Olympiad in the Japanese city of Chibo, the team from Russia won 6 highest awards, including 5 gold and one silver.

In addition, in 2023 alone, Russian children’s teams brought home: 3 gold and one silver from the Biology Olympiad in Al Ainer (UAE), and also 3 gold, one silver from the 55th International Chemistry Olympiad in Zurich. At the 8th International Olympiad in Geography in Belgrade, Serbia, they managed to earn 8 medals. In computer science, where competition is also fierce, we won 4 gold medals at the International Olympiad in Hungary…

Perhaps the secret of such a high level of training is that the Internet is well developed in Russia. In the age of high technology, people are no longer as isolated from the sources of knowledge and centers of progress as they were before. Even in the worst corner, you can not only complete the preliminary stage of the Olympiad online, but also prepare for the international level, if you wish. The country is also not deprived of talented talents. On the other hand, modern parents have become more involved and ambitious; they do not spare money on trips and tutors.

For many “golden heads,” internal Olympiads act as a social elevator. Taking, in particular, straight to the university without having to take the Unified State Exam.

“Not exactly, the applicant still must pass one Unified State Examination in the subject in which the Olympiad was held, with at least 75 points,” clarifies education expert Anastasia Gordeeva. – And for the rest, of course, victory in the international Olympiad is guaranteed admission. And the person still sits, chooses from the best universities with a specialized specialty. And since there are never too many tops, at Moscow State University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, ITMO, RANEPA, every year we have a queue of champions and finalists of Olympiads who are beyond the competition. Even those with 100 points sometimes can’t get in; there are no places left on the budget, which causes misunderstandings almost every year.

As for internal Olympiads, which are rated just as highly and have the same property of being accepted in addition to the general competition, they are list ones. And every year the list is published by RSOSH, the Russian Council of School Olympiads. The list also depends on the subject. But, traditionally, this is always the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren. And also “Lomonosov”, “Highest Standard”, “Clever Men and Smart Men”, “Conquer the Sparrow Hills”, Herzen Olympiad and others.