How does Switzerland choose its IBO team?

Through three rounds of the Swiss Biology Olympiad: a multiple choice test at school at the start of the school year, a theory exam in February, and a final week of practical exams at the University of Bern in spring. The national site says the four best competitors travel to the IBO.

Who organises the Swiss Biology Olympiad?

An association under Swiss law that sets all the exams, listed by the IBO as biology.olympiad.ch. It is hosted by science.olympiad.ch in Bern, and the IBO names the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation as the appointing institution.

The national site says students at a Swiss Mittelschule (upper secondary school) or in Liechtenstein who will not turn 20 before the following July. Your teacher registers your class for the first round.

Is this guide written by a Swiss participant?

No. It is an outline of the official picture from published sources, with tips from BiOGuide. We are looking for a Swiss olympiad participant or coach to write a firsthand guide and replace this one.

Switzerland Biology Olympiad (SBO): Official Outline of the Path to IBO

Switzerland sends four students to the International Biology Olympiad (IBO). The national site’s news list headlines a silver and a bronze medal for the Swiss team at the 36th IBO in the Philippines in 2025, and reports on the 37th IBO in Vilnius, Lithuania (12 to 19 July 2026), where the headline speaks of medals and new friends.⁴ This page outlines how the path to that team works according to the sources we could read. It is a map of the structure, not an insider’s account of what the exams feel like. The national site is available in German, French, Italian and English, and facts that depend on our own translation of the German pages are marked.

Programme: Schweizer Biologie-Olympiade (SBO), listed by the IBO as biology.olympiad.ch¹
Organiser: An association under Swiss law, hosted by science.olympiad.ch in Bern¹
Who can enter: Students at a Swiss Mittelschule or in Liechtenstein, not turning 20 before the next July³
Stages: Three rounds: school multiple choice test, theory exam, final week in Bern; then the IBO team of four
Official website: biology.olympiad.ch, as listed by the IBO
Language: The site is in German, French, Italian and English; the sources we could read do not say what language the exams are in

The path at a glance

Stage	What happens	How sure we are
Round 1	A multiple choice test in class, run by your teacher, at the start of the school year	Good, stated by two sources
Preparation week	Successful participants are invited to an autumn camp	Good for the idea; the exact selection is not stated
Round 2	A theory exam in February that goes beyond school lessons	Good, stated by two sources
Round 3	A final week at the University of Bern in spring, with about 20 students, practical exams with theory built in	Good for the structure; the finalist count varies between sources
IBO team	The four best of the final	Good from the national site; the IBO page does not state the number

Round 1: the multiple choice test at school

The first round is a multiple choice test taken at school at the start of each school year, which looks for existing knowledge, logical thinking and a flair for biology.² The IBO’s directory says it is held in biology classes at high school and is a pure multiple choice test, usually in August.¹ You cannot sign up alone: the national site tells students to ask their teacher to run the first round with them, and tells teachers to email the organisers for the first-round materials. A teacher can have the class fill in the test in 90 minutes, and the association marks the answer sheets and sends feedback to teachers and students.³ Old exams for practice are linked from the national site.²

Preparation week and round 2

Successful participants are invited to a camp in autumn, run by university students, that gives a broader and deeper knowledge before round 2; the national agenda lists a preparation week starting on 8 November 2026.² Round 2 is a theory exam that requires more than classroom knowledge, with questions that test using knowledge to solve scientific problems, and the agenda lists it on 13 February 2027.² The IBO’s directory calls the second round a pure multiple choice test held by the association and says winners of this round receive material to study at home for about two days.¹

Round 3: the final week in Bern

The final takes place in spring in the laboratories of the University of Bern. The national site says the 20 best contestants of round 2 take part and that a final ranking is formed over four days of numerous practical tests with built-in theory questions, ending with a medal celebration at which the Swiss IBO representatives are announced.² The 2027 agenda lists the start of the final on 29 March 2027, and a news item reports that the 2026 final ran from 6 to 12 April 2026 in Bern, with 23 young participants who analysed human DNA, looked for antioxidants in basil and dissected pig eyes and crabs.^2,4 The IBO’s directory says only the final carries awards, with gold for places 1 to 4, silver for 5 to 8 and bronze for 9 to 12.¹

The IBO team and its training

The national site says the four best competitors travel to the IBO, and the IBO’s directory says the winners of the third round form the IBO team.^2,1 According to the IBO’s directory, the team is trained for about seven days by members of the association, is expected to study about five days at home, and uses former IBO exams in the training.¹ A 2026 German press release adds that the German team’s pre-IBO seminar that year was held together with the Swiss team in Riederalp in the Swiss Alps.⁵ The association is run by volunteers, and Liechtenstein students sit the Swiss exams and training with a separate ranking.⁶

Points for an Author

If you went through this programme yourself, these are the points we most need you to settle. They are grouped here so that nothing uncertain is buried in the text above.

Where the sources disagree

How many students take part in round 1. The IBO’s directory says 1,800,¹ while the national site says more than 1,000 take part each year.² These can both be true if the IBO figure is a recent peak, but we cannot tell.
How many students reach the final. The national site says the 20 best of round 2,² while its 2026 news item says 23 young participants attended the final that year.⁴ The IBO’s directory awards medals to places 1 to 12.¹ We do not know whether the extra places are wildcards or the separate Liechtenstein ranking.
How round 2 is described. The IBO’s directory calls it a pure multiple choice test,¹ while the national site calls it a theory exam that goes beyond classroom knowledge without naming the format.²
The IBO name of the programme. The IBO lists it as biology.olympiad.ch, while the national site calls it the Schweizer Biologie-Olympiade (SBO). We use the national name in the title and the IBO name for the organiser.
The 2025 result. We read only the headline of the national news item about the 2025 IBO, which speaks of a silver and a bronze medal, so we cannot say how many of the four students medalled.⁴

Gaps a firsthand author could fill

The exact size of the IBO team. The national site says “the four best”, and the IBO page does not give a number.
The language of the exams, and registration dates, which the sources we could read do not give.
Whether Liechtenstein students count towards the four places.
How the 20 finalists are selected from round 2, and what the pass levels are.
What the autumn camp, the final week and the IBO training are like, and what students wish they had known.
How the experience differs between language regions.

A firsthand author can settle every one of these points. If that could be you, email us or read how it works.

BiOGuide tips for students aiming at this path

These are general tips from BiOGuide, not advice from a Swiss participant, and they apply to any student aiming at an IBO team.

Ask your teacher at the start of the year. The first round runs through your class at the start of the school year, and you cannot enter without a teacher.
Use the old exams. The national site links old exams for the first two rounds. Our practice papers hold past IBO papers, and the IBO preparation guide explains the international format.
Prepare for practicals. The final is made of practical exams with built-in theory, and the IBO has practical exams as well. The 2026 final included DNA analysis, so see our genetics notes, the cell and molecular biology notes and the practical sections.
Learn the English terms. The IBO papers are in English, so learn the English names of structures, processes and methods even if you study in German, French or Italian.
Use the official channels for anything dated. The round dates change each year, and the association decides, not us.

Official links and sources

International Biology Olympiad, country page for biology.olympiad.ch. ibo-info.org. The page is undated.
Swiss Biology Olympiad, English home page with the three rounds and the agenda, read in October 2026. biology.olympiad.ch
Swiss Biology Olympiad, “Mitmachen” page for students and teachers (in German, undated). biology.olympiad.ch. Facts from this source depend on our own translation.
Swiss Biology Olympiad, news list including items of 28 July 2025, 13 April 2026 and 21 July 2026 (in German). biology.olympiad.ch. We read the headlines and summaries, not full articles, and facts from this source depend on our own translation.
German selection press release on the 37th IBO, 2026 (in German, PDF), source for the joint seminar in Riederalp. scienceolympiaden.de. A German source about a Swiss event, so treat it as indirect; it depends on our own translation.
Swiss Biology Olympiad, “Über uns” page (in German, undated). biology.olympiad.ch. Facts from this source depend on our own translation.

This outline was last checked on 8 October 2026 and will age. Spotted an error or out-of-date detail? Email r6394175@gmail.com.