IEO Class 1

The SOF International English Olympiad (IEO) for Class 1. The English olympiad tests usage rather than literature. It asks whether a child can handle real text — a notice, an editorial, a conversation — not whether they can recall a chapter.

At this age the paper is read to a child as much as by them. The value is not the rank; it is twenty minutes of sustained attention on problems that do not look like homework.

The paper

35 questions in one hour, for 40 marks.

Section	Questions	Marks each	Total
Word and Structure Knowledge	15	1	15
Reading	10	1	10
Spoken and Written Expression	5	1	5
Achievers Section	5	2	10
Total	35		40

The Achievers Section is 5 questions at 2 marks each — 10 of the 40 marks from a tenth of the questions. It is where the paper is actually decided, and it is the part most preparation skips.

What is on the syllabus

The syllabus

Jumbled Letters, Words : Their Meanings and Opposites, Identify the Word From the Picture, Making a Word, Word Power, Feminine and Masculine, One and Many, Word Pairs, Odd One Out, Animals : Their Babies, Sounds and Groups, Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Conjunctions, Articles, Adverbs, Prepositions, Adjectives, Basic tenses, Punctuation, Comprehension (Prose and Poetry), Picture Composition, Spoken and Written Expression.

The Achievers Section draws on the syllabus above, at higher order.

How Sophoz prepares for it

Practice is weighted towards problems whose shape is unfamiliar, because that is the skill the paper tests. Hints open up an approach rather than giving away the step, so the child still does the noticing.

Sessions are paced backwards from the exam date, with earlier topics revisited at widening intervals. Spacing beats massing by a wide margin — it is the best-evidenced result in learning science.

Mastery is tracked per skill rather than per subject, so a weak area is visible instead of being averaged away inside a percentage.

Before you register

Registration is through the school; SOF does not generally accept individual entries.

Syllabus and paper pattern from the Science Olympiad Foundation. Check sofworld.org for the current year's dates before planning around them.