The South African National English Olympiad was established in 1976, and is a joint project of the Grahamstown Foundation and the South African Council for English Education (SACEE).

2026 ENGLISH OLYMPIAD

Entries for the 2026 Olympiad will open in August 2025.  The Call for Entries and Entry Form will be posted here when available.
The 2026 English Olympiad examination will be written on Tuesday 3 March 2026.
For more information on the English Olympiad, click on the 2026 Call for Entries below.
The closing date for entries to the 2026 Olympiad is 30 September 2025.
2026 Call for Entries
2026 Entry Form

The title of the 2026 Olympiad anthology will be We have a choice – Victim or Victor?  The examinations will be based on this anthology of literary works and a study guide compiled by Hillary Lewis-Soma.  The 2026 anthology will challenge learners to explore the meaning of choice, in particular, the choice to be warriors or victors on the many battlefields faced in life.  In her introduction, Lewis-Soma writes that the anthology “is about us – the human race – making choices about the circumstances in which we find ourselves. It is about being cramped and locked up behind our own perceptions and unwillingness to change and embrace our full potential.”

The Olympiad is open to all learners (English HL and FAL) who will be in Grades 9-12 in 2026 – that is, those learners who are in Grades 8-11 in 2025.

Please note that entries are only accepted via schools. No individual or private entries are accepted.

Please note: copies of the 2026 anthology are only made available to schools that participate in the 2026 English Olympiad.  The 2026 study guide will be published on this website in November 2025.

2025 ENGLISH OLYMPIAD RESULTS

Please note that ONLY teachers registered by the Olympiad will have their school’s login details sent to them and only registered teachers may log in to view these results.

If you have not received a password via email or cannot access your school’s results please contact the Olympiad Officer for assistance.

View your School’s 2025 Results
2025 HL Top 100
2025 FAL Top 20

2025 ENGLISH OLYMPIAD WINNERS

2025 Olympiad Resources

The English Olympiad celebrated its 50th edition in 2025.  The Chief Examiner for the 50th Olympiad, Dr Malcolm Venter, started the project in 1976.  The theme of the 2025 Olympiad was “Celebration”, and the examinations were based on an anthology of literary works titled Let us Celebrate and a study guide compiled by Dr Venter and Co-Examiner Yvette Morgan.

Please note: copies of the 2025 anthology and study guide are only made available to schools that participate in the 2025 English Olympiad.

2025 HL Exam Paper – “Celebration”
2025 FAL Exam Paper – “Celebration”

2026 Olympiad Entries

The Call for Entries for the 2026 English Olympiad will open on 1 August 2025. Entry forms will be available on this website from that date.

The 2026 English Olympiad is open to all learners (English HL and FAL) who will be in Grades 9 – 12 in 2026, that is, those learners who are in Grades 8 – 11 when applying.

Entries will close: Monday 30 September 2025