The UK maths olympiad route

What is the maths olympiad in the UK?

In the UK, maths olympiads are run by the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT), a maths charity. There is one for each age band, and a child earns a place with a top score in a multiple-choice Challenge sat at school.

The olympiads are where the multiple choice stops. Each is two hours or more on four to six problems, and every answer is a full written solution.

This guide covers UKMT’s route for children at school in the UK.

How does a child qualify for a maths olympiad?

By a top score in a UKMT Challenge. The Junior Maths Challenge leads to the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, and the Intermediate Maths Challenge to the Cayley, Hamilton or Maclaurin Olympiad, by school year.

There is no application form. The score is the invitation, and results go to schools, so the school knows first.

Schools can also enter a student who did not qualify, as a discretionary entry.

Which olympiad fits my child’s school year?

Year 8 and below: the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. Year 9 and below: the Cayley. Year 10: the Hamilton. Year 11: the Maclaurin.

Can a Year 7 sit a maths olympiad?

Yes. A Year 7 can sit the Junior Maths Challenge in May, and the top scorers go on to the Junior Mathematical Olympiad in June.

In 2026 the Junior Olympiad needed 112 out of 135 in the Junior Challenge. The next 10,000 to 15,000 scorers qualify for the Junior Kangaroo instead, on the same day.

A Year 7 can also sit the Intermediate Challenge in January if their school enters them. A top score there leads to the Cayley Olympiad.

What is an olympiad paper like?

Two hours and six problems for the Junior, Cayley, Hamilton and Maclaurin Olympiads. Every answer is a full written solution, and a correct answer on its own earns very few marks.

Each problem is out of 10, and the marks go to clear, complete reasoning.

Multiple choice ends at the Challenge. The Olympiad wants full written solutions, and almost no school teaches that.

The British Mathematical Olympiad runs longer: three and a half hours, with six problems in Round 1 and four in Round 2.

How many children reach an olympiad?

Around 1,000 to 1,200 a year for the Junior Olympiad, and around the top 500 in each year band for the Cayley, Hamilton and Maclaurin.

Gold in the 2026 Intermediate Challenge needed 61, so a Cayley place needed 25 marks more.

More on that paper: the Intermediate Maths Challenge, a parent’s guide.

Where does the route lead after that?

To the Senior Maths Challenge and the British Mathematical Olympiad. The Senior Challenge is open to Year 13 and below, and around 1,000 of its top scorers are invited to British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1.

The Cayley, Hamilton and Maclaurin don’t lead into it. The Senior Challenge is its own entry, in October.

Around 100 are invited to Round 2, which UKMT calls the UK’s hardest national mathematics competition.

UKMT aims to invite 24 students to its first olympiad training camp of the year, in Oxford each September. It picks them mainly on Round 1 and, for Years 10 and 11, the Hamilton and Maclaurin.

For those who take it all the way, the road leads to the International Mathematical Olympiad. The UK team is six students.

Where can my child get olympiad training?

Start with UKMT. Its past papers and solutions are free online, and its mentoring schemes send monthly problem sheets to students their school nominates.

UKMT’s past papers include every olympiad on this page.

UKMT’s Mentoring Scheme takes nominations from schools registered with UKMT. Applications for 2026 to 2027 have closed; UKMT says 2027 to 2028 opens around June 2027.

Its Olympiad Mentoring Scheme is for students who already know olympiads and are working towards Round 2 of the British Mathematical Olympiad. Schools register students through their UKMT account.

UKMT also runs a week-long National Mathematics Summer School. Invitations go at random to students from the top 1.5% of Intermediate Challenge scores in Years 10 and 11.

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