Get ready for the preliminary round of the Philosophy Olympiad 2025/2026

Last year, the Philosophy Olympiad started for the first time with a multiple-choice test before the first essay round. This preliminary round was created because the work involved in evaluating the essays was no longer manageable for our volunteers as the number of participants increased.

We don't just want to test prior knowledge, so we have designed a test that we hope will test skills that will also help you write a good essay. For example, logical argumentation or philosophical understanding of quotations from primary texts, which often serve as essay topics. 

The new preliminary round was very well received: 1123 pupils from over 80 schools in 24 cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein completed the online test. The previous record number of participants in the Philosophy Olympiad was 172 last year. Thanks to the introduction of a new preliminary round and the participation of many teachers with their entire classes, this number has increased almost 7-fold!

The preliminary round will therefore remain in the 2025/2026 school year, with some adjustments based on feedback from teachers and participants. For example, the test will now last 45 minutes instead of 30, with more questions to reduce the importance of chance.

The preliminary round 2025/2026 will take place from September 1 to October 5, 2025 on OlyPortal. Learn more.

If you want to prepare now, you can register on OlyPortal and solve last year's test as a mock exam. This will allow you to familiarize yourself not only with the style of the questions, but also with the platform on which the test will take place. Keep your login details safe - you will need them again in September!

If you don't want to register yet, you can also find the test and the evaluation scheme as a PDF in the Brain Food archive. Dear teachers, if you like a question, you are welcome to use it.