What Math competitions are there for High Schoolers in NSW?

The UNSW School Mathematics Competition

The competition is designed to assess mathematical insight and ingenuity rather than efficiency in tackling routine examples. The competition is a three-hour open-book exam.

Prize: $5000 per year

Key Dates:

• Registration for the competition starts in March and ends in May.
• The exam will take place in June.

Australian Mathematics Competition

First run in 1978, the Australian Mathematics Competition is Australia’s longest-running, largest and most well-known maths competition for high school students. The test is 30 questions long – 25 multiple-choice, 5 integer and can be taken online or on printed paper and submitted.

Topics include: Basic arithmetic, Fractions and ratios, Algebra and pre-algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics and probability, and Problem-solving (including enumeration).

Key dates:

• Online entries close: Friday 2 August 2024 
• Submission of student answer sheets for printed paper entries closes: Friday 9 August 2024
• Late submission of student answer sheets close: Friday 23 August 2024

Kangourou sans Frontières

Kangourou sans Frontières (KSF) is the largest maths competition in the world, with more than 6 million participants each year. Held in March, the KSF is a great opportunity for students to experience mathematics in a competitive environment prior to the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) in August. The competition is conducted online and will consist of 30 questions.

Topics include; Basic arithmetic, Fractions and ratios, Algebra and pre-algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Statistics and probability and Problem-solving.

Key dates:

• Registration for 2025 will open in February.

Maths Olympiad

Math Olympiad has categories ranging from year 1 through to 8. High Schoolers in Years 7 and 8 can enter the senior division which is designed to challenge and extend their critical thinking capabilities.

Further developing problem-solving concepts and strategies established in the Junior Division Olympiad, the Senior-level competition provides an opportunity for high-achieving maths students to take up the challenge and test their skills against other teams from across Australia and New Zealand.

The competition aims to

• Build on the important mathematical concepts established in school.
• Consolidate strategies and develop greater flexibility for problem-solving.
• Foster creativity and ingenuity and strengthen intuition.

The competition format

• The Olympiad comprises four separate contests roughly six weeks apart, starting in early Term 2, and students should complete all four contests.
• Each competition comprises 5 questions, worth 1 mark each, and must be completed in a specified time frame of 30 minutes.
• Contest questions are completed individually by each student with no collaboration during contests.
• Each contest is held under exam conditions in the classroom and marked by the teacher in charge who then submits the results to APSMO.

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