UKMT intermediate maths challenge?

Oh, I misread, she's doing SMC now, fine. Still, in case anyone else is told differently, definitely UKMT don't mind young students sitting any of their challenges.

Yup, my DS is off to national final of TMC too. Did it last year too, hoping to come further away from last this time! Btw it's not true that you have to be at secondary to do the senior maths challenge, my DS is a counterexample; you might want to push back on that. Hope she has fun!

Has anyone's kids done the team challenges. DD did the Junior team challenge this year and won their regional so are off to London for the final. Got to have her at the station for 6:15 am to catch train.

My DD has been doing all these since Yr 3, when she did the Junior at the local Grammar. She then started the intermediate in Yr 5 and was upset because the senior is the only one that won't let a non senior school pupil sit it. The head of maths promised as soon as she started at the Grammar properly she could sit the senior one. So in Yr 7 and 8 she has sat the senior and got silver both years, desperately wants to get into the senior Olympiad next year. This years intermediate she got a merit on the Olympiad. Told her that's good and she's got 3 years to get higher. Was trying to find out how many got Merit and how many got Distinction.
The ones that take points is to try and discourage just guessing at the answer as that doesn't give a proper indication of knowledge.
In the Olympiads the questions are scored up to 10 points each, depending on correct answer and description of working outs.
DD is expected to get A* in GCSE and is currently studying to sit the OCR advanced maths at the end of next year(9).
The type of questions in the UKMT are different to GCSE, they are more applied maths, applying your book knowledge in different ways.
It helps get them used to exam conditions as well.

Those are brilliant scores OYBBK & Atia, kudos to your dc.

It does - which is bloody astonishing! School are making a proper fuss, which is lovely as shes the sort that sits quietly refusing to accept thats shes done well. She kinda cant ignore this.

She got 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 0 She got number 5 right but couldn't come up with a rigorous proof. For number 6 she didnt put anything as she said that her rough workings just ended up rephrasing the question.

Your ds is doing superbly too - you should both be very pleased indeed!

That's fantastic - that makes her top 50, doesn't it? Marvellous :) Hope she is suitably chuffed with herself and being fussed over by maths teachers :) Do you know the breakdown (just out of nosiness, lol)?

My ds got 36, so pleased too :) And he's y8 so he gets another crack at it next year which is quite nice!

(cor I sound like a self satisfied prig in that last post - we were actually rather astounded and very very pleased for her)

dd got 46 in the Cayley - so she got a prize but not into the summer schools which I think are primarily for year 10 and 11. Shes in a non-selective comp so school are very pleased.

Yeah, I've wondered how much they track people, given that it's all working towards finding the team for the international Olympiad, but dd1 got zero in her Cayley paper, so clearly it's not too important!

sorry one selected from high results in the intermediate challenge (not JMC) and the other from olympiad results. Obviously earlier results are only considered when they are available.

Wow I found out my DD1 this when she came home from school and casually mentioned it. Had no idea it was such a big deal, national competition etc.. All the girls in her year do it. There are some maths geniuses in her class, so she is in the middle, so don't expect her to do particularly well.

Can you prep for these (she clearly didn't!)? Never mind, I think her skills lie elsewhere. At least she is relaxed about it, not remotely thinking about the results. I'll know more next year I hope!

I know a couple of dc who have attended the summer school southernsoftie. As far as I remember they look not just at the results from the current year but also those from earlier years too. Also, they did run two summer schools at one point (don't know if they still do) and then, one was selected from very high results in the JMC and the other from Olympiad results.

And of course, well done to him! :-)

Well done pinkcheese - you'll have to make yourself a certificate

My daughter went to the summer school - she's at a grammar. You get a list of all the kids in your week, with their schools. 3/4 of the 40 were public schools whose names you'd recognise (if you are a proper mumsnetter, lol!) - I was quite surprised, and then felt rather naive. They only take one kid from each school (otherwise it'd be ten Etonians etc ...) She'd done well, though not brilliantly (I think she got distinction, but not into the prize zone) in the Hamilton.

Trying to think when she got the invitation - must have been around half term. I think they put on an extra couple of weeks last year - might be worth asking what is available, but as far as I know it's all invitation-only.

The Royal Institution do a summer school which last year had several one and two day maths courses. There must be other similar things going in other places.

Thanks for posting this thread, I hadn't heard of these challenges before. DS yr7 came home saying he'd had to do a maths test with some others in yr7&8 last Thursday - I guess it must have been the JMC! (he is on g+t list for maths)

I have just had a go at this years paper myself, and marked it. Scored 84, which is on threshold for gold. Quite proud of my knackered ancient brain cells

southernsoftie according to the UKMT wiki article, merit means top 50%, so hope he's pleased :) Which paper was he doing?

DD did it last week along with her Yr8 top set - no idea how they did, but she enjoyed it.

Yes, I'd say usually around 105 and last year's was high.

Does anyone know what marks you need to get to qualify for olympiad in the junior challenge 2014? I heard it was around 100 but last year it was 113, which is strangely high...? what about this year? DD thinks she got 116 because she saw the answers.

Right, thanks. I expect it would have been the primary.

If it was in November it was the primary maths challenge. If it was in February it was the Intermediate maths challenge. There is the Junior maths challenge coming up in May. Though it is aimed at years 7 and 8 there is nothing to stop those in younger years giving it a go. For children who really enjoy maths it proves a fun challenge.

There is a primary maths challenge - I wish more schools would do it. yes, it is good :)