Competitions · Chemistry · CCC
CCC, the Canadian Chemistry Contest.
Sixty minutes, twenty-five questions, and open to any high-school student - which makes it one of the most accessible entry points in chemistry. It is also the qualifying round for the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad.
At a glance
What the contest is, and where it leads.
The Chemical Institute of Canada is an umbrella body made up of Canada’s constituent chemistry societies. ASDAN China has hosted both CCC and the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad in the China region since 2018.
- Organiser
- The Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC)
- Who can enter
- High-school students in any year. There is no qualifying requirement to sit it
- Format
- Individual, written, sat in person at test centre schools
- Duration
- 60 minutes in the China region
- Paper
- 25 single-answer multiple-choice questions
- When
- Late April, with registration closing about ten days earlier
- What it qualifies for
- The Canadian Chemistry Olympiad. Strong performers are invited to the national final
- And beyond that
- The Canadian olympiad selects the national team for the International Chemistry Olympiad
- Note on structure
- The published paper structure also describes longer short-answer sections. Confirm the current year’s arrangement with the organiser before preparing for them
Why it is a good first contest
Low barrier, real destination.
CCC is unusual in combining an easy entry with a route that runs all the way to an international olympiad.
No qualifying round to clear
Any high-school student in any year may enter directly. There is no preceding paper to pass and no school nomination limit, which is not true of the American olympiad.
One hour, twenty-five questions
Under two and a half minutes a question, all multiple choice. It is a short commitment relative to almost anything else in chemistry.
But it feeds the national olympiad
Award winners are invited to the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad, which selects Canada’s team for the international olympiad. The ceiling is genuinely high.
And the organiser carries weight
The Chemical Institute of Canada is the country’s umbrella chemistry body, and the contest is among its most established.
Syllabus
Eight areas, including one most contests omit.
The published scope is broad for a one-hour paper, and it opens with something no other chemistry competition here lists.
Safety, first on the list
Laboratory safety is an examined topic in its own right. No other chemistry contest on this site tests it, and a student who has only revised theory will not have prepared for it.
Physical chemistry
Chemical equilibrium, thermochemistry and reaction kinetics, and electrochemistry. The largest block of the paper and where most of the calculation sits.
Foundations
Solutions and stoichiometry, gas laws and prerequisite concepts, acids and bases, and the relationship between structure and properties.
Organic chemistry
Examined as one of the eight areas rather than as the dominant one, which is a lighter organic load than UKChO expects.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares students for CCC.
A one-hour multiple-choice paper across eight topics rewards breadth and pace rather than depth in any one area.
Cover all eight, evenly
With 25 questions across eight areas, no topic can be neglected on the assumption it will not appear. Preparation audits the whole list rather than deepening a strength.
Do not skip safety
It is the first topic listed and it is genuinely examined. Students who have only studied theory should cover it deliberately, because it is quick to learn and easy to lose marks on.
Under two and a half minutes a question
Timed practice matters more than on a longer paper. The skill is recognising quickly which questions to answer immediately and which to return to.
Planning for the olympiad beyond
For a student who might be invited to the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad, the preparation for that round is different in kind. Knowing that in advance shapes the year.
Why Hanlin
Hanlin has been entering students for CCC for years, and publishes what they got. The record is further down this page.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course tiers
Which course, and on what evidence.
Every tier for CCC is entered from a placement paper rather than from a year group. These are the actual standards.
| Course | Hours | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Full course | Full course | No hard prerequisite, though an IGCSE chemistry grounding makes it go faster |
Ask for the placement paper before choosing a tier. It takes an hour and it settles the question.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
CCC past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own CCC students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast Canadian Chemistry Contest papers with answer keys
- PDFThe syllabus by grade level, and where CCC goes past school chemistry
- PDFHow CCC leads to CCO, and what that requires
- PDFRegistration checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Dr Li
A Fudan postdoctoral researcher with a PhD in organic chemistry from HKUST, a master's in medicinal chemistry and nano-engineering from East China University of Science and Technology jointly with Myongji University, and a first degree in pharmaceutics. College Board-accredited.
Qiu
PhD in organic chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, after materials physics at East China University of Science and Technology. College Board-accredited, with published papers on organic small-molecule catalysis in internationally recognised journals.
Shi
Master's in water science and engineering from TU Dresden - one of Germany's TU9 institutes - after environmental engineering at Ocean University of China. A researcher in environmental chemistry at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, a DAAD scholarship holder, and College Board-accredited.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
Global Outstanding awards, 2025
One line from Hanlin's published CCC record. The rest of it is below.
CCC
- 202536 global Outstanding awards, 26 Gold, 15 Silver and 9 Bronze
- 202425 Outstanding, 12 Gold, 17 Silver and 5 Bronze
- 20238 Outstanding and 8 Gold
Earlier years
- 202231 Outstanding awards, the top 10%, with 8 national Gold, 19 Silver and 7 Bronze
- 20218 Outstanding and 13 Gold
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for CCC, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
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CCC, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Who can enter CCC?
High-school students in any year. There is no qualifying paper to clear first and no limit on how many students a school may enter.
What is the paper?
Twenty-five single-answer multiple-choice questions in sixty minutes, sat in person at a test centre school.
What topics are examined?
Safety, chemical equilibrium, organic chemistry, acids and bases, electrochemistry, structure and properties, solutions and stoichiometry with gas laws and prerequisite concepts, and thermochemistry with reaction kinetics.
Is laboratory safety really tested?
It is listed first among the examined categories. It is worth covering deliberately, since it is quick to learn and not something a theory-focused student will have revised.
What does a good result lead to?
An invitation to the Canadian Chemistry Olympiad, which is the national final and selects Canada’s team for the International Chemistry Olympiad.
How long is the exam exactly?
The China-region sitting is sixty minutes. The published paper structure also describes longer short-answer sections, so confirm the current year’s arrangement with the organiser before preparing for those.
How does it compare with UKChO?
CCC is shorter, entirely multiple choice, and lighter on organic chemistry. UKChO is a two-hour written paper reaching into first-year university content.
When is it held?
Late April in the China region, with registration closing about ten days beforehand.
Related
Where CCC leads, and what sits beside it.
The Canadian olympiad, and other chemistry contests.
CCC enquiries
An hour to enter, an olympiad at the other end.
CCC takes any high-school student without a qualifying round and leads to Canada’s national olympiad. Tell us the student’s year group and an advisor will map the April entry and what an invitation onward would involve.