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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:

Singapore/Hong Kong/Macau/China/India:

PRELIMINARY ROUND

SEMI-FINALS ROUND

FINALS ROUND                 – 19 Sep – 21 Sep 2021 (in Venezia-Jesolo, Italy)*

* To be finalised

CANDIDATES REGISTRATION and FEES

Every participating school needs to appoint one of their staff as The Olympiad person-in-charge officer (PICO). The PICO will be in charge of applications and will need to ensure that all The Olympiad examination regulations are adhered to.

For Hippo 2021 Online Applications, all schools will receive login details for the Hippo Online Platform where they will have to register the candidates by entering the required details. After the registration end date, no further amendments can be made.

OLYMPIAD – REGULAR and SPECIAL CATEGORIES

The participants will compete in 9 categories (6 regular and 3 special) based on the Common European Framework. The categories will be as follows:

CategoryAgePreliminary Round LevelSemi Final and Final Round
LITTLE HIPPOStudents born in 2011 and youngerCEFR Pre A1 Young LearnersCEFR A1 Young Learners
HIPPO 1Students born in 2009 and youngerCEFR A1 Young LearnersCEFR A2 Young Learners
HIPPO 2Students born in 2008 and youngerCEFR A1CEFR A2
HIPPO 3Students born in 2006 and youngerCEFR A2CEFR B1
HIPPO 4Students born in 2004 and youngerCEFR B1CEFR B2
HIPPO 5Students born in 2002 and youngerCEFR B2CEFR C1
HIPPO S10Students born in 2009 and youngerCEFR B1CEFR B2
HIPPO S15Students born in 2006 and youngerCEFR B2CEFR C1
HIPPO S19Students born in 2002 and youngerCEFR C1CEFR 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 HippoHippo 1Hippo 2Hippo 3Hippo 4 & S10Hippo 5 & S15Hippo S19
Number of questions30303434344040
Points per question1111111
Duration20 min30 min30 min35 min40 min45 min45 min

Listening

Little HippoHippo 1Hippo 2Hippo 3Hippo 4 & S10Hippo 5 & S15Hippo S19
Number of questions20202222222222
Points per question1111111
Duration20 min20 min20 min20 min20 min20 min30 min

Use of English

Little HippoHippo 1Hippo 2Hippo 3Hippo 4 & S10Hippo 5 & S15Hippo S19
Number of questions20202020202020
Points per question1.51.51.51.51.51.51.5
Duration20 min20 min20 min20 min30 min30 min30 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 HippoHippo 1Hippo 2Hippo 3Hippo 4 & S10Hippo 5 & S15Hippo S19
Number of questions30403434404040
Points per question1111111
Duration30 min30 min35 min40 min45 min45 min50 min

Writing

Little HippoHippo 1Hippo 2Hippo 3Hippo 4 & S10Hippo 5 & S15Hippo S19
Number of questions30Free-writing task (essay) + 30Free-writing task (essay) + 30Free-writing task (essay) + 30Free-writing task (essay) + 30Free-writing task (essay) + 30Free-writing task (essay) + 30
Points per question1.51.51.51.51.51.51.5
Duration45 min45 min45 min45 min45 min45 min45 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

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.

LIABILITY

By applying for the Olympiad, the participants accept the conditions of the Olympiad, organisation of the Olympiad, marking criteria, assessment and prizes.

The personal data of the participants will be used only for the purposes of the Olympiad and will not be disclosed to third parties except for the need of the Olympiad.

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