SEHSS 2026 enrolment is open till 16 October 2026, extended by IAPT from 5 October. Get complete details on the IAPT Standard Examination in High School Science eligibility, exam pattern, fee, syllabus, and how it connects to NSEJS.
SEHSS 2026: Standard Examination in High School Science, Registration, Eligibility, Exam Pattern & Preparation Guide
The Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) has opened registrations for the Standard Examination in High School Science (SEHSS) 2026, a voluntary, stress-free science assessment designed especially for students who could not enrol for NSEJS 2026, though it is open to a much wider group of eligible students as well. If your child has a strong interest in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or Mathematics, this is a low-pressure way to test that interest at a national level. Here’s everything you need to know, with the dates re-checked against IAPT on 14 October 2026.
SEHSS 2026 status (checked 14 October 2026): IAPT extended SEHSS 2026 enrolment to 16 October 2026, 6:00 PM. Enrol through the official portal at iaptexam.examtime.co.in/SEHSS and check iapt.org.in for any further notice. The exam is on Sunday 29 November 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.
What Is SEHSS?
SEHSS stands for the Standard Examination in High School Science, conducted by IAPT the same body that conducts NSEJS (National Standard Examination in Junior Science) and the senior National Standard Examinations (NSEP, NSEC, NSEB, NSEA). Unlike those Olympiad-track exams, SEHSS is explicitly designed as a fully voluntary exam in a stress-free environment, with no cut-throat eligibility restrictions. It’s meant to give every interested student regardless of board, state, or whether they attempted NSEJS a chance to benchmark their science and maths understanding at the Class 10 level.
Registration and Exam Dates
| Event | Official date |
|---|---|
| Enrolment opened | 21 September 2026, 6:00 AM |
| Enrolment closes (extended) | 16 October 2026, 6:00 PM (originally 5 October) |
| SEHSS 2026 exam | Sunday 29 November 2026, 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM |
| Complete solutions on the IAPT website | 10 December 2026, 6:00 PM |
Fee: ₹300 in India ($20 for overseas students). Eligibility: students of Class 10 or lower on 30 November 2026, any board. Sources: IAPT and the SEHSS enrolment portal, checked 14 October 2026.
After the exam, IAPT invites the best 25 students from each of its five regions to a 10-day Orientation Camp for Science Excellence (OCSE), and awards certificates to top performers at centre, state and national level.
Eligibility :Who Can Apply
The eligibility rule for SEHSS is refreshingly simple: any student who is in Class 10 or a lower class as on 30 November 2026 can apply. There is no separate age limit the only condition is that the student must not have already passed Class 10 by that date. There’s also no board restriction, so students from CBSE, ICSE, any State Board, the Open School Board, and even International Boards are all welcome to register. While the exam is especially recommended for students who missed the NSEJS 2026 enrolment window (which closed on 14 September 2026), any eligible student can register for SEHSS regardless of whether they attempted NSEJS.
Exam Pattern: In Detail
The SEHSS question paper covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics, all at the Class 10 level, with equal weightage given to all four subjects. Importantly, the same question paper is used for Class 10 students and all students in classes below Class 10, so younger aspirants attempt the identical paper as their Class 10 peers.
The paper consists of 60 questions in total: 48 are single-correct-option objective questions, and 12 are objective questions that may have more than one correct option (a question might have 4, 3, 2, or just 1 correct answer among the choices). Each of the four subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics gets exactly 15 questions (12 single-correct plus 3 multi-correct), keeping the weightage perfectly equal across subjects. The exam is conducted in offline, OMR-based mode.
The question paper is available in English, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Kannada, and in any other scheduled Indian language if more than 500 students at a particular centre opt for it a thoughtful touch that makes the exam accessible well beyond English-medium schools.
Registration Fee
The registration fee for SEHSS 2026 is ₹300 for students in India, and $20 for overseas students. Payment is completed online at the time of registration through the official portal.
How to Register for SEHSS 2026
Students can register directly through the official link: https://iaptexam.examtime.co.in/SEHSS/.
If your school is already registered as an SEHSS/IAPT exam centre, you can register through your school’s centre in-charge. If not, IAPT also allows individual online enrolment, so a school not participating as a centre doesn’t stop a motivated student from registering and appearing at a nearby designated centre. Enrol before the 16 October 2026, 6:00 PM deadline, which IAPT extended from 5 October, and check iapt.org.in for any further notice rather than relying on a later extension.
What Happens After the Exam
One of the most student-friendly features of SEHSS is that every examinee receives an online solution/answer key after the examination, so students get immediate clarity on how they performed rather than waiting anxiously for results. For recognition, IAPT shortlists the top 25 students from each of five zones East, West, North, South, and Central India for further recognition, giving strong performers from every region a fair shot at acknowledgment, not just students from traditionally exam-heavy states.
How SEHSS Connects to NSEJS and the Olympiad Pathway
NSEJS is the first stage of India’s selection process for the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) and has stricter eligibility it’s open only to students in Classes 8, 9, or 10 within a specific age band, and enrolment for NSEJS 2026 closed on 14 September 2026. SEHSS was introduced as a parallel, more inclusive option: it welcomes any student up to Class 10, with no birth-year restriction, making it ideal for younger students (Class 6, 7, or 8) who are not yet eligible for NSEJS, as well as older students who simply missed the NSEJS window this year. Many coaching institutes and schools treat SEHSS as a valuable stepping stone that builds the same foundational Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics skills that feed into NSEJS and, eventually, Olympiad-level exams.
How to Prepare for SEHSS 2026
Since the paper is set at the Class 10 level with equal weightage to all four subjects, start by making sure NCERT (or your board’s equivalent) concepts up to Class 10 are solid across Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics don’t over-invest in just one favourite subject, since each contributes equally to the score. Pay special attention to the 12 multiple-correct-option questions, since these require a more careful, all-options-considered approach rather than picking the first plausible answer, unlike a standard single-correct MCQ. Practice under OMR-format, timed conditions for the full 2.5 hours so that pacing across four subjects feels natural on exam day. Since the exam is explicitly designed to be low-stress, treat your first attempt as a genuine learning experience use the instantly available answer key afterward to identify weak areas for future Olympiad-level preparation.
How OziTutors Can Help
SEHSS tests Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics at Class 10 level, including multiple-correct questions where every correct option must be marked. With the exam on 29 November 2026, a student has several weeks for focused practice.
- Online science tutors for Physics, Chemistry and Biology concepts
- CBSE Science tutors for Class 9–10 to close syllabus gaps first
- Olympiad physics tutor profile (Class 9–10) for NSEJS-style problem practice
- Online maths tutors for the mathematics section
Book a free first lesson with a recent test paper, and confirm the tutor’s olympiad experience and availability before booking regular lessons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the last date to register for SEHSS 2026?
16 October 2026, 6:00 PM. IAPT extended the date from 5 October 2026 (IAPT website and enrolment portal, checked 14 October 2026).
Q2. When will the SEHSS 2026 exam be held?
Sunday, 29 November 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM.
Q3. Is there an age limit for SEHSS?
No. The only condition is that the student must not have passed Class 10 as on 30 November 2026.
Q4. Can students from any board apply?
Yes. CBSE, ICSE, State Boards, Open School Board, and International Boards are all eligible.
Q5. What is the exam fee?
₹300 for students in India, and $20 for overseas students.
Q6. Is SEHSS the same as NSEJS?
No. NSEJS is the first stage of the IJSO Olympiad selection process with stricter eligibility, while SEHSS is a more inclusive, voluntary science assessment, especially useful for those who missed NSEJS enrolment or aren’t yet eligible for it.
