HIPPO
International English Language Olympiad

OVERVIEW

Hippo International English Language Olympiad (hereinafter referred to as The Olympiad) is open to Primary 1 (7 years old) to Secondary 4 (16 years old) from the whole world. Students participating in The Olympiad will take their tests at an approved venue (state school and schools that are part of the formal education system, as well as private schools.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of The Olympiad is to promote the English language, challenge students around the globe to compete in English language knowledge, and to improve cooperation between teachers. The Olympiad encourages the development of a shared sense of identity and integration, serves as a role model for young people living together as one community.

The main goal is to create and nourish friendly relations, international understanding and a spirit of sporting competitiveness between young people interested in English language from all around the world.

FORMAT OF THE TEST

The Olympiad will run in three(3) rounds namely: Preliminary round, Semi-Final Round & Final round. The scheduled exam topics are as follows:

For Indian Students:

PRELIMINARY ROUND – 22 May, 2021

SEMI-FINALS ROUND – 26 June, 2021

FINALS ROUND – To be announced (in Venezia-Jesolo, Italy)*

* To be finalised

OLYMPIAD – REGULAR AND SPECIAL CATEGORIES`

Category	Age	Preliminary Round Level	Semi Final and Final Round
LITTLE HIPPO	Students born in 2011 and younger	CEFR Pre A1 Young Learners	CEFR A1 Young Learners
HIPPO 1	Students born in 2009 and younger	CEFR A1 Young Learners	CEFR A2 Young Learners
HIPPO 2	Students born in 2008 and younger	CEFR A1	CEFR A2
HIPPO 3	Students born in 2006 and younger	CEFR A2	CEFR B1
HIPPO 4	Students born in 2004 and younger	CEFR B1	CEFR B2
HIPPO 5	Students born in 2002 and younger	CEFR B2	CEFR C1
HIPPO S10	Students born in 2009 and younger	CEFR B1	CEFR B2
HIPPO S15	Students born in 2006 and younger	CEFR B2	CEFR C1
HIPPO S19	Students born in 2002 and younger	CEFR C1	CEFR C2

OLYMPIAD – PRELIMINARY ROUND

The preliminary round will consist of three (3) parts namely:

READING – a test of reading comprehension (MCQ) questions

LISTENING – a test of listening comprehension

USE OF ENGLISH – a test on the use of English

There is only one(1) correct answer to every question. There are no negative marks and ranking is based on the average number of marks achieved on all three(3) The breakdown of questions per point per minute are as follows:

Reading:

	Little Hippo	Hippo 1	Hippo 2	Hippo 3	Hippo 4 & S10	Hippo 5 & S15	Hippo S19
Number of questions	30	30	34	34	34	40	40
Points per question	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Duration	20 min	30 min	30 min	35 min	40 min	45 min	45 min

Listening:

	Little Hippo	Hippo 1	Hippo 2	Hippo 3	Hippo 4 & S10	Hippo 5 & S15	Hippo S19
Number of questions	20	20	22	22	22	22	22
Points per question	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Duration	20 min	20 min	20 min	20 min	20 min	20 min	30 min

Use For English:

	Little Hippo	Hippo 1	Hippo 2	Hippo 3	Hippo 4 & S10	Hippo 5 & S15	Hippo S19
Number of questions	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Points per question	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Duration	20 min	20 min	20 min	20 min	30 min	30 min	30 min

OLYMPIAD – SEMI FINAL ROUND

The semi-final round will consist of two(2) parts :

READING – a test of reading comprehension (MCQ) questions

WRITING – a test of a free-writing task (100-200 words) & 30 MCQ questions

There is only one(1) correct answer to every question. There are no negative marks. Ranking is based on the average number of marks achieved on both reading and the writing test.

The breakdown of questions per point per minute are as follows :

Reading:

	Little Hippo	Hippo 1	Hippo 2	Hippo 3	Hippo 4 & S10	Hippo 5 & S15	Hippo S19
Number of questions	30	40	34	34	40	40	40
Points per question	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Duration	30 min	30 min	35 min	40 min	45 min	45 min	50 min

Writing:

	Little Hippo	Hippo 1	Hippo 2	Hippo 3	Hippo 4 & S10	Hippo 5 & S15	Hippo S19
Number of questions	30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30	Free-writing task (essay) + 30
Points per question	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Duration	45 min	45 min	45 min	45 min	45 min	45 min	45 min

OLYMPIAD – FINAL ROUND

In the final round, candidates will be taking a Gatehouse Awards exam, all four(4) skills included. The test samples / past papers are available on http://www.hippo-olympiad.org. The exam level for the final round will be one CEFR level higher than the one in the preliminary round that is the same as the semi-final round test.

In addition to the four-skill GA examinations, candidates take a Use of English test consisting of 30 questions. The results of this test will be used for final round ranking purposes and will not affect the GA examination qualification score.

All candidates need to be accompanied by their English language teacher from their school. Parents who wish to accompany their child(ren), need to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements as the hotels where the students are accommodated are booked exclusively for the Olympiad participants.

The programme of the final round will be available on http://www.hippo-olympiad.org one(1) week before the final round at the latest and will include the Olympiad final round schedule as well as sightseeing options.

AWARDS

PRELIMINARY ROUND
Perfect Score – Award (Full marks) – qualifies as a significant award for IJHS
Gold Award (Top 8%) – qualifies as a significant award for IJHS
Silver Award (Next 12 %)
Bronze Award (Next 20%)
Honorable Mention Certificate (Next 10%)
Certificate of Participation (Next 50%)
SEMI-FINAL ROUND – Certificate of Participation
FINAL ROUND – INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH (SCORE OF 50% MINIMUM).

MARKING and RANKING

The tests of Reading and Listening are marked by an OMR device and for that reason need to be properly filled in. Candidates are required to use a pen while completing the OMR form. An OMR sample form will be available on the website two weeks before the preliminary round of the Olympiad at the latest.

In case an OMR form is not properly filled and the OMR device cannot read it, Global Hippo Association keeps the right to disqualify the candidate if the identity of the candidate cannot be established.

In the semi-final round, the essay will be marked only if two or more candidates have the same number of points on both the reading and writing test. The ranking list for all categories as well as the names of the candidates who qualified for the final round will be available on http://www.hippo-olympiad.org.

Participants with the top marks will win a contest package to Italy. However, they must purchase their own air ticket to Italy and have an accompanying parent / teacher.

SH (SCORE OF 50% MINIMUM).

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Registration are Closed Now
Contest Date: Preliminary Round: 1st Week of June, 2021
Semi – Final Round: 26 June, 2021
Last Date for Registration : 10 May, 2021
Registration Fees : Rs. 300/ – Only per participant.

HIPPO International English Language Olympiad