School Olympiads in Russia have a long history; but only after implementation of the United State Exam, they became really important. The point is that winning a medal in the All-Russian School Olympiad guarantees going to any university without preliminary examination. The All-Russian Olympiad was designed as a way to reveal and encourage creativity and interest in science in school students.
The New Minister of Education and Science of the RF, Olga Vasilyeva, opened the biggest Russian intellectual competition yesterday: "Today I am proud to say that the Olympic Movement covers almost the whole country, because our scale is great. The number is striking – 6 million school students from 10 to 18 participate in the Olympiad annually… 5 thousand children get to the finale; and then 39 participants represent our country in international Olympiads where we take leading places. In 2011-2016 our children won 184 medals: 91 gold, 75 silver, and 18 bronze medals."
According to Vasilyeva, "participation in Olympiads is not only knowledge assessment, but also a big chance for the future life, especially scientific one. Medal winners of the All-Russian School Olympiad, as well as members of Russian national teams, who participate in international Olympiads, have a right to go to a university without preliminary examination majoring in what they want. The right is good four years since participation in Olympiad from the first year after holding the Olympiad."
The Minister said that "the federal law gives medal winners of the All-Russian and international Olympiads not only a right for benefits during entering a university, but also a right to choose a university. However, a school leaver can use this right only once, applying to one of universities and only to one of educational programs."
The All-Russian School Olympiad is held on 21 school subjects: Mathematics, the Russian Language, a Foreign Language (English, German, French), Informatics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Ecology, Geography, Astronomy, Literatures, History, Social Studies, Economics, Legal Science, Art (the History of World Art), Physical Culture, Industrial Art, and Fundamentals of Health and Safety.
