Mathsaurus

The UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge is usually taken by students in Years 7 and 8 in England and Wales, which corresponds to Years 8 and 9 in Northern Ireland or S1 and S2 in Scotland, but younger students can also take the challenge. Students in equivalent year groups around the world also take the Junior Maths Challenge. These year groups usually correspond to students aged between 11 and 13, but there is no lower limit on the age students can participate.

The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge is is usually considered an ‘enrichment’ activity and schools often offer the competition to their more enthusiastic or high-performing students. A range of students can benefit from taking the challenge, and the earlier questions are always made to be more accessible so that it is not just the top students who will enjoy the Junior Maths Challenge!

The Junior Mathematical Challenge usually takes place in April, a couple of weeks after the Easter holidays. The exact date varies from year to year. I keep a list of upcoming maths challenge dates here or you can also see the date of the next JMC at the UKMT website here.

The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge is marked automatically. Paper entries are passed through a machine that scans the papers and checks students multiple choice answers so it is very important that students follow the instructions on the answer paper carefully and only enter one answer for each question. Students often keep a note of their answers on rough paper and enter their answers on the answer sheet at the end as it can be hard to erase answers fully if they want to change their answers. Students taking the challenge online do not have this problem of course where the marking is fully automated and answers are chosen on the screen.

The free Mathsaurus course ‘Get Ready for the Junior Maths Challenge’ contains many years of past Junior Maths Challenge questions, each with video hints and solutions to help you practise and prepare. Further past papers can be found at the page here or at the UKMT website here.

Yes! The page here explains how to qualify, and also about ‘discretionary entries’ for students who haven’t qualified automatically.

You can only take the JMC at a registered UKMT centre - see the video here for more advice about what you can do in this situation.

Yes! As well as making the courses here I often teach small group lessons via Zoom to prepare for maths challenges at all levels, including the Junior Maths Challenge. If you would prefer to work with me 1-1 you can see more information and book here.