At the end of last term our Year 9-11 mathematicians took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge – a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition aimed at students across the UK. Run by the UK Mathematics Trust, it encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.

The competition recognises the top scoring 50% of performers in the Challenge, with awards of Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates in the ratio 3:2:1.

In addition, 1500 of the very highest performers are invited to take part in either the Cayley, Hamilton or Maclaurin Olympiad (depending on their school year) and around 8000 to take part in either the Grey or Pink Kangaroo (depending on their school year).

The 2023 award thresholds were:

Bronze: 42+ Silver: 55+ Gold: 71+ (all ages)

Pink Kangaroo (Years 10 and 11)

Grey Kangaroo (Year 9 and below)

This year saw an amazing performance from our Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 students with 115 medal winners, one of the best NHEHS performances ever from over 230 students taking part in the challenge!

In Year 9, of 84 taking part, there was one Gold (Kajal P), six Silver and 27 Bronze. In Year 10, where 84 also took part, 5 gained Gold (Sofia A, Aanya S, Yuna T, Ishita N, Dian Kim), 14 Silver and 21 Bronze. Finally, in Year 11, 65 took part with 6 gaining Gold (Daria G, Amanda C, Ariana G, Nirupana K, Amelia C and Priya B), 13 Silver and 22 Bronze.

Of the 12 Golds, six students qualified for the follow-on challenges:

Daria G gained a Gold Best in School certificate, qualifying for the Maclaurin Mathematical Olympiad.

Amanda C, Ariana G, Nirupana K also gained a Gold, qualifying for the Pink Kangaroo.

Sofia A achieved a Gold Best in Year, qualifying for Pink Kangaroo

Kajal P gained gold Gold Best in Year, qualifying for Grey Kangaroo

At the follow-on challenges, Amanda C achieved a Merit Certificate at the Pink Kangaroo while Daria G earned a Certificate of Distinction and a Bronze Medal at the Maclaurin Mathematical Olympiad.

Well done to everyone on these fantastic results!

If you’d like to put your own Maths skills to the test, give some of the past papers a try here.