Competition level

REGULAR CATEGORY – For Students from Government/Private School (Majority subjects are taught in non-English) OR English Medium International School (less than 2 years)

Born 2013 and younger (Primary 1) Grade 1 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2012 (Primary 2) Grade 1 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2011 (Primary 3) Grade 2 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2010 (Primary 4) Grade 3 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2009 (Primary 5) Grade 4 Level “Hippo 1“
Born 2008 (Primary 6) Grade 5 Level “Hippo 1“
Born 2007 (Secondary 1) Grade 6 Level “Hippo 2“
Born 2006 (Secondary 2) Grade 7 Level “Hippo 3“
Born 2005 (Secondary 3) Grade 8 Level “Hippo 3“
Born 2004 (Secondary 4) Grade 9 Level “Hippo 4“
Born 2003 (Secondary 5) Grade 10 Level “Hippo 4“
Born 2002 (Lower 6) Grade 11 Level “Hippo 5“
Born 2001 (Upper 6) Grade 12 Level “Hippo 5“

SPECIAL CATEGORY – For Students from English Medium International School (Majority subjects are taught in English, over 2 years)

Born 2013 and younger Grade 1 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2012 Grade 1 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2011 Grade 2 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2010 Grade 3 Level “Little Hippo“
Born 2009 Grade 4 Level “Hippo S1” (Under Group A)
Born 2008 Grade 5 Level “Hippo S1” (Under Group A)
Born 2007 Grade 6 Level “Hippo S1” (Under Group B)
Born 2006 Grade 7 Level “Hippo S1” (Under Group B)
Born 2005 Grade 8 Level “Hippo S2” (Under Group A)
Born 2004 Grade 9 Level “Hippo S2” (Under Group A)
Born 2003 Grade 10 Level “Hippo S2” (Under Group B)
Born 2002 Grade 11 Level “Hippo S2” (Under Group B)
Born 2001 Grade 12 Level “Hippo S2” (Under Group B)

The students of lower levels can compete at higher level if they feel prepared for the level.

Preliminary Round

Closing Date for Preliminary Round registration is 15th January 2020. The tests for the preliminary round of the Olympiad will consist of three parts: a test of reading comprehension (multiple choice questions), a test of listening comprehension and a Use of English test. The maximum allowed time per part is shown below. The tests are the same for all the participants of a category. (Q – questions, M – maximum allowed time in minutes)

LITTLE HIPPO – Reading (30 Q in 20 M), Listening (20 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 20M)
HIPPO 1 – Reading (30 Q in 30 M), Listening (20 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 20M)
HIPPO 2 – Reading (34 Q in 30 M), Listening (22 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 20M)
HIPPO 3 – Reading (34 Q in 35 M), Listening (22 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 20M)
HIPPO 4 – Reading (34 Q in 40 M), Listening (22 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 30M)
HIPPO 5 & HIPPO S1 – Reading (40 Q in 45 M), Listening (22 Q in 20 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 30M)
HIPPO S2 – Reading (40 Q in 45 M), Listening (22 Q in 30 M) and Use of English (20 Q in 30M)

Semi-final Round

After the preliminary round tests have been marked, the top 10% of participating students from Malaysia will be invited to the semi-final round. The list of semi-finalists will be expanded to include all the students whose number of points is the same as the number of points of the last students in the first 10%. The list of finalists will be published on the official website 6th April 2020.

The exam level for the semi-final round will be one CEFR level higher than the one in the preliminary round. The tests for the semi-final round of the Olympiad will consist of: a reading test, a writing test (30 questions) and an essay (except for Little Hippo). (Q – questions, M – maximum allowed time in minutes)

LITTLE HIPPO – Reading (30 Q in 30 M) and Writing (30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO 1 – Reading (40 Q in 30 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO 2 – Reading (34 Q in 35 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO 3 – Reading (34 Q in 40 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO 4 – Reading (40 Q in 45 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO 5 & HIPPO S1 – Reading (40 Q in 45 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)
HIPPO S2 – Reading (40 Q in 50 M) and Writing (essay + 30 Q in 45 M)

Final Round

In the final round of the Olympiad, the candidates will be taking a Gatehouse Awards exam, all 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.

The final round of the Olympiad will be held in Lido di Jesolo, Italy, from 15th to 17th May 2020. All candidates need to be accompanied by their English language teacher, or an English language teacher from their school. Parents who wish to accompany their children, need to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements as the hotels where the students are accommodated are booked exclusively for the Olympiad participants. Three-day half-board accommodation will be provided for all the candidates and their teachers free of charge.

Marking and Ranking

• • 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.
  • Considering that in the semi-final round, candidates complete the reading and writing tests only and not the listening test, the OMR will be used for the reading test only.
  • In case an OMR form is not properly filled in (e.g. incorrect or missing candidate number) 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 the writing test.

The ranking list for all categories as well as the names of the candidates who qualified for the semifinal round will be available on http://www.hippo-olympiad.org on 28th February 2020.

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 6th April 2020.

The final round places will be assigned in the following way:

• • Top 150 finalists will be admitted directly from the semi-final ranking list. The number of finalists per category will be proportional to the number of preliminary round participants in each category.
  • Additional 10 places will be assigned to the regular categories with the highest number of enrolments independent of the zone and in accordance with the ranking list.
  • In order to promote a multicultural environment, wildcards will be granted to the best participant from each of the countries that failed to produce finalists.
  • GLOBAL INPUT keeps the right to increase the number of finalists if the number of applicants exceeds 40,000, all in accordance with the Olympiad regulations.
  • The finalists will have to confirm their participation in the final round by 30th April 2020. In case a candidate is unable to travel to the finals, the next one on the ranking list will be invited.