SOF NCO / ICSOSOF International Computer Science Olympiad (formerly National Cyber Olympiad)
About SOF NCO / ICSO
SOF’s computer olympiad — historically the National Cyber Olympiad (NCO), now catalogued as the International Computer Science Olympiad (ICSO) — tests school students of Classes 1 to 10 on computing literacy, IT concepts and logical reasoning in a one-hour objective paper written at their own school.
Parents sometimes confuse it with the Indian Computing Olympiad run by IARCS; the two are unrelated. SOF’s exam is a mass-participation awareness and benchmarking contest with medals and scholarships, whereas the IARCS olympiad is the competitive-programming pathway to the International Olympiad in Informatics.
Accepted by: SOF ranks, medals, certificates and scholarship awards; a benchmarking contest with no admission or team-selection role (India’s IOI team comes from the separate IARCS Indian Computing Olympiad)
Official websiteSOF NCO / ICSO eligibility
Classes 1–10
SOF NCO / ICSO exam pattern
Sections
- Logical Reasoning
- Computers and Information Technology
- Achievers Section (higher-weightage questions)
Marking scheme: None
SOF NCO / ICSO syllabus outline
- Computer fundamentals, MS Office/common software, internet basics and emerging-technology awareness pitched to each class
- Logical reasoning section shared with SOF’s other olympiads
- SOF has varied the level structure of this olympiad across cycles — consult the current SOF prospectus for whether a second level applies
Preparing for SOF NCO / ICSO?
Olympiads reward deep fundamentals — the same preparation that pays off later in JEE, NEET and other entrance exams. Explore every national and international olympiad, or check the official site for this year's dates and registration.