Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) · Maths · Class 6
International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) Class 6: syllabus, dates and exam pattern (2026–27)
Everything you need in one place — the exact NCERT chapters this paper tests, its published exam dates, the registration window, and the full marking scheme. Updated for the 2026–27 session.
Last verified against Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF)'s own site on 11 August 2026. Exam dates re-checked on 24 August 2026.
2026–27 exam dates
Date 1
23 October 2026
Date 2
26 November 2026
Date 3
10 December 2026
Registration: Your school picks one of the three dates above, and registrations must reach SOF 30 days before that chosen date — so 23 September 2026 for the October date, 27 October for the November date, and 10 November for the December date. The school chooses the date, not the family, and once chosen it cannot be changed. Ask your school coordinator which date they have picked and work backwards from that one cutoff.
The deadline is set by your school, not by you
Most parents find the exam date and assume they have until then. The registration window closes long before it, and for some papers it has already started closing. Here is how it actually works.
- Your school registers your child and your school picks which of the 2–3 dates the class sits. The family does not choose.
- For SOF papers, registrations must reach SOF exactly 30 days before that chosen date — and once the school has chosen, the date cannot be changed.
- Most bodies register through the school. These do not have to: CREST (online, no published cutoff), Unified Council — directly for NSTSE itself at ₹350 against ₹150 through a school, and on three online sittings, NSTSE-Online, UIMO-Online and UIEO-Online, at ₹354 each including GST — Indian Talent Olympiad on its individual online route (its own later dates — Slot 1 closes 30 October), and Humming Bird (online, ₹150 a subject, no published cutoff — its two dates are picked as you register). CREST is the simplest of them. SilverZone also runs an individual registration form alongside its default school route; which papers it offers we have not been able to confirm.
Closing next
SOF IEO (English) — if your school picks 27 October 2026
Registrations must reach SOF by 27 September 2026
SilverZone Foundation — Every SilverZone paper
Registration closes 30 September 2026
The body publishes this date but has not marked it final — confirm with your school before treating it as fixed.
SOF ISO (Science) — if your school picks 30 October 2026
Registrations must reach SOF by 30 September 2026
Indian Talent Olympiad (ITO) — School route — Set B
Registration closes 10 October 2026
SOF IHO (Hindi) — if your school picks 23 November 2026
Registrations must reach SOF by 24 October 2026
Or read the full calendar on the site — no sign-up
Every deadline in this box was re-read against the exam body's own website on or after 20 September 2026. Each table carries its own source link and its own date. Bodies do move dates, so check against the body's own site before you act on one.
Exam pattern
How the IMO paper is structured
| Section | Questions | Marks per question | Section total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logical Reasoning | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Everyday Mathematics | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Achievers Section | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| Total | 50 questions | — | 60 marks · 60 minutes |
Around 60% of questions come from the current Class 6 syllabus and 40% carry over from Class 5, so starting preparation early in the school year is not a disadvantage.
Syllabus
Maths syllabus mapped to NCERT Ganita Prakash (Class 6, 2026-27)
Ch 1. Patterns in Mathematics
Olympiad syllabus label: Number Patterns / Sequences
Ch 2. Lines and Angles
Olympiad syllabus label: Lines, Angles and Basic Geometry
Ch 3. Number Play
Olympiad syllabus label: Number Sense / Playing with Numbers
Ch 4. Data Handling and Presentation
Olympiad syllabus label: Data Handling / Statistics
Ch 5. Prime Time
Olympiad syllabus label: Playing with Numbers / Number Theory
Ch 6. Perimeter and Area
Olympiad syllabus label: Mensuration
Ch 7. Fractions
Olympiad syllabus label: Fractions and Decimals
Ch 8. Playing with Constructions
Olympiad syllabus label: Practical Geometry / Constructions
Ch 9. Symmetry
Olympiad syllabus label: Symmetry
Ch 10. The Other Side of Zero
Olympiad syllabus label: Integers
The Logical Reasoning section (15 questions) draws on verbal and non-verbal reasoning — analogies, series, coding-decoding — rather than the chapter list above; it is a separate reasoning spine common to most SOF and SilverZone papers.
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Tell us your child's class and subject, and we'll answer on WhatsApp. A person reads and replies — there is no bot on this number.
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Related guides
Other olympiad syllabus guides
Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) · Class 7
IMO Class 7 — maths syllabus, dates and pattern
Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) · Class 8
IMO Class 8 — maths syllabus, dates and pattern
Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) · Class 6
NSO Class 6 — science syllabus, dates and pattern
Unified Council · Class 6
NSTSE Class 6 — science syllabus, dates and pattern
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Guides that answer the next question
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Level 2 means four different things at four different olympiad bodies. At CREST it is the top 55.56% of the class. At SOF it is roughly the top 5%. Here is each body’s published rule, the score it took at SOF last year for Classes 6 to 8, and the two things SOF says about Level 2 that most parents never see.
SOF IMO vs SilverZone iOM: which should your Class 6 child take?
SOF IMO and SilverZone iOM both test Class 6 maths, but the exam pattern, syllabus split, and scoring are different enough to matter. Here is a side-by-side comparison to help you choose — or why most families end up doing both.
Or see every 2026-27 exam date and registration cutoff in one table, or browse all the papers we cover.
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