The NASMO Olympiad second phase began on April 4, 2026, drawing 19,489 students from across Saudi Arabia in a national competition covering six scientific disciplines. The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, known as Mawhiba, is organizing the event in partnership with the Ministry of Education.

Training Programs Across 47 Cities

The phase runs from April 4 to 9 and includes intensive training programs at the city and governorate level. A total of 778 trained teachers are supervising the sessions, which take place across 47 cities and governorates over five days at six hours per day.

NASMO Olympiad Student Distribution by Subject

Participants represent 16 educational regions, along with the two general education directorates of the Royal Commission in Jubail and Yanbu. The 19,489 students are distributed across six subjects. Mathematics leads with 5,830 students, followed by informatics with 5,057, biology with 2,220, physics with 2,218, science with 2,102, and chemistry with 2,061.

This education competition targets students from the first year of middle school through the first year of secondary school. The structure moves through progressive stages, starting at the school level, then advancing to education directorate competitions, and finally reaching the national team contest and the Olympiad finals in Riyadh.

Phase Two Concludes with Regional Exam on April 9

Phase two closes with the General Directorates Competition exam on Thursday, April 9. The exam takes place in person at general education directorate headquarters. Each directorate will then form its preliminary team of top-performing students based on exam results, in preparation for phase three.

Phase three will include directorate-level training and national team selection tests. The competition structure is designed to identify students capable of representing Saudi Arabia in international science olympiads.

First Edition Reached Over 99,000 Students

The first edition of the Olympiad recorded participation from 99,179 students, representing 8,356 schools across 47 cities and governorates in 16 educational regions. Mawhiba said the figures reflect the broad reach of the competition and the scientific ambition among Saudi students.

“The Olympiad aims to expand the discovery of gifted students in public education, localize olympiad science training within education directorates, and increase the number of students benefiting from specialized programs.”

Mawhiba Foundation

Beyond student participation, the competition also targets teacher development and the enrichment of curricula with problems that build higher-order thinking skills. Mawhiba said these goals align with preparing Saudi students to compete at the global level, in line with the broader objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.