CREST Mathematics Olympiad CMO

An online, two-level maths olympiad that starts younger than almost any other — Nursery upward.

Not what you were looking for? Not the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, which shares the CMO acronym and is a proof-based national olympiad run by the Canadian Mathematical Society. This is CREST Olympiads' online school competition.

Fast facts

Organiser
CREST Olympiads source
Country
India source
Tier
Commercial olympiad source
Eligibility
Nursery – Grade 10 source
Questions
50 source
Duration
60 minutes source
Format
Multiple choice source
Maximum score
60 source
Rounds
2 source
Sat
Online source
Fee
INR 275 source
When
Level 1: 10 and 19 December 2026 source

Is this for my child?

Nursery to Grade 10. For Nursery to Class 1 the exam is parent/teacher assisted. source

Format & marking

The paper is split into Practical Mathematics and an Achiever's Section, and the two are marked differently — Achiever's questions are worth more. The size of the paper scales with the class: Nursery to Senior KG sit 25 questions for 30 marks in 45 minutes; Classes 1-4 sit 35 questions for 45 marks; Classes 5-10 sit 50 questions for 60 marks. In every band the Achiever's questions are the double-weighted ones, so they decide the ranking. source

What to know

CREST does not say whether wrong answers cost marks

We checked the CMO page, the marking-scheme page and the FAQs: the word 'negative' does not appear on any of them. So we cannot tell you whether CMO penalises a wrong answer, and we are not going to guess. Ask CREST before the exam if it matters to your child's strategy. Note that CREST's sibling Mental Maths Olympiad does state it has had no negative marking since 2025 — but that is a statement about CMMO, not about CMO.

CREST's own pages disagree about levels

The CMO page states two levels plainly and publishes Level 2 dates. CREST's FAQ page elsewhere says its olympiads 'primarily feature one level'. The CMO page is the more specific and more recently dated source, so we follow it.

Past & sample papers

Papers are copyright of the organiser, so we point you to the source rather than hosting copies.

View on CREST Olympiads (official) →

Free style papers for this format

Original CREST Champs papers modelled on this competition's published format — our own content, not the organiser's papers, with full answer keys and worked solutions included.

Questions parents ask

Is there negative marking in CMO?

CREST does not say. The word does not appear on the CMO page, the marking scheme, or the FAQs, so we have left it blank rather than guess. If your child's strategy depends on it, ask CREST directly.

How many questions will my child sit?

It depends on the class. Nursery to Senior KG sit 25 questions for 30 marks in 45 minutes. Classes 1-4 sit 35 questions for 45 marks in an hour. Classes 5-10 sit 50 questions for 60 marks in an hour. Every band includes an Achiever's Section whose questions are worth double.

Is this the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad?

No. That is also abbreviated CMO but is an entirely separate, proof-based national olympiad run by the Canadian Mathematical Society. This is CREST Olympiads' online school competition, based in India.