Junior maths challenge 2025

The 2026 JMC paper and solution are available now on UKMT website！
https://ukmt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/JMCPaper2026.pdf

https://ukmt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/JMC2026__Solutions_and_Investigations__web_version_.pdf

Having looked at both the IMC and JMC 2026 papers, I’ve concluded that the JMC is actually harder! Your DD were right that after Question 6, almost all the questions stay at a similar difficulty level. The progression is quite strange: Question 23 is straightforward school-level algebra, whereas Question 7 is much more competition-style in nature.

Glad to have stumbled upon Theos, I know DS did the JMC for the first time this year, I didn’t realise it was a big deal!
No idea how he did. The whole top set did it, I don’t think they prepared at all though.

@user149799568

I just posted, looked to see if anything else was on the forum and i saw your post including this.

"Kangaroo around 85, and the JMO qualifying score will be around 105."

I think this prediction is spot on myself.

@swdd @Statistico

I'll try and add a bit more context for you. First of all I think it is difficult to some degree for those like my and Statistico's DD to perhaps call it right. In taking the IMC too in year 8, always knowing whatever the JMC was like this year is going to be easier than that exam, and conditioned to tacking harder questions.

My DD pre IMC took past papers at home under exam conditions, of course these were the prevailing difficulty at the time (subsequently blown out of the water in the 2026 IMC)

I've just looked back at my notes from the time to see how she did.

2021 IMC paper, attempted 22 all correct, score 117.
2023 IMC paper, attempted 23, 1 incorrect, score 118
2024 IMC paper, attempted 22, 2 incorrect, score 105
2025 IMC paper, attempted 23 all correct, score 123.

My DD may do better at home because she hasnt got the distractions of class. But still from what she tells me from this wks JMC I don't believe she'll score 117+, something she's obviously done above in 3-4 mock IMC exams.

So I'd conclude that the JMC this yr wasn't slightly more difficult than 2025 but a fair bit more difficult. It seems about similar difficulty to the last few years IMC's.

Anecdotally my DD spoke to a 2 top set girls yday, they both said they answered 10-12 and then all but gave up and started drawing. For the remaining questions one said she chose the answers "she felt most spiritually connected to" LOL.

As for 2 girls who were 2025 JMC Kangaroos they both guessed 7 so it seems very unlikely they'll be scoring the 100+ they did lasy year.

Now that the paper and solutions are out, we can discuss more freely.

This paper takes substantially longer to complete than most of the other recent ones. Children at the top end who were already time pressured will probably have addressed 4-5 fewer questions than in the last two papers.

The first couple of "gimme" problems were no more difficult but were more tedious (took longer to do) than in recent papers.

Question 6 felt out of place. Problems involving combinatorics (listing all possibilities) rarely appeared before Question 16 in past papers.

Similarly with Question 7. Problems involving number theory (primes, parity), were rarely before Question 16 and usually after Question 21. Same with Question 11, although I thought Question 11 would have been easier than Question 7 for most children.

That said, none of the individual problems were more difficult than any that had appeared in other recent papers. It's just that there were more of the more difficult ones than in other recent papers, e.g., Question 21 could have been a Question 24 or 25.

My guess is that the Gold boundary will be around 75, Kangaroo around 85, and the JMO qualifying score will be around 105.

Interesting. I notice some other parents on this thread, whose DC have previously qualified for the JMO, sat the IMC and achieved gold in the grey kangaroo or a merit in the Cayley Olympiad, think this JMC was significantly more than "a bit" harder than your @Statistico DS feels.

I agree Parallel is great and my DD used to be a regular user, but she has been so into chess recently that she watches it unfrequently now. I have unlocked levels 1 to 6 for her; since the content is often mixed, she frequently comes across harder questions. Nrich is another brilliant resource, but with so many interests, she simply doesn’t have enough time to do everything.
https://nrich.maths.org/students/secondary

I must post again about parallel who have been doing free webinars for JMC prep. Bit unhelpful to only mention this now perhaps.
High quality free weekly problem, free math presenter led online circles and now a structured academy stream (low cost/free after exam to join) small group tutorials. Honestly the best free math resource out there for math strong.

https://parallel.org.uk/

DS (y8) agreed JMC "a bit harder" this year
For context he got to Kangaroo both in y6 & y7 but always makes a mistake or two on easier questions. 123 last year and was gutted not to get Olympiad because of insanely rising boundary in recent years.
He sat IMC for a try in Feb (hardest paper for 12+ years, oops) and got to Grey Kangaroo and then a silver
TBH I was hoping for harder JMC paper for him.
Not sure it was as big a relative difficulty increase as IMC, but parallel work has improved him no end.

Never underestimate pushy MC parents and indy schools thirst to coach their pupils/ 'add value' so I'd be very surprised if JMC Olympiad boundary drops below 115 this year

In DS state school the y7 & y8 top set math class sit JMC in maths lesson with a relaxed email out to parents a week or so before which helpfully mentioned the free parallel webinars.
Some friends looked at a past paper over weekend and found Wednesday quite tough whereas DS's Easter homework for parallel academy was a JMC and a Junior Kangaroo past paper.
While you dont need any extra topic* there's no exam in the world that is not improved on viewing a past paper or two

• The mathematicians who set it cannot help themselves however and basic but solid number theory like knowing prime factors I very helpful

@swdd That makes sense. It is early to have kids setted for maths in Yr5 too.

I think my DD's school ethos doesn’t encourage competition, but promotes inclusivity instead. The JMC is extremely challenging for Year 5 students, so the school only allows the top set to take part. I believe this is the right decision, as it would be of no benefit to non-top set students and would only intimidate them. If the school made a big fuss about the JMC preparation just for the top set, those who don’t get to participate, together with their fee-paying parents, would feel it unfair. That’s why I think the school keeps it all very low-key.

In senior school, I know all Year 7 students take part, and they have a teacher-led club specifically for anyone who is interested.

For what it's worth (bog standard rural state secondary school) we got a heads up the night before on school-home messaging app, with a link to the UKMT website. My DS took a look on the bus on the way into school so he had a vague idea of what it was all about. All very low key by the school and no prepping here!

@swdd what's all this secrecy angle at the school? Aren't the kids who the school enters not forewarned to give them maybe a chance to prep a bit? At a London independent I'd expect them to be very able at Kangaroo level perhaps.

I think most are sitting it blind. Kids may get a notification from the teacher the wk or so before that the test is coming up to say it's happening and a few of those may look at past papers. In some schools kids volunteer to take it or not, in some it's top set only, etc.

I learnt about it all when my DD came home this time last yr and told me she'd scored 130, then I started looking to see what it was all about.

I have read around wider and it seems some of the top boys schools specifically prep for it. Some have a dozen or more Olympiads every year in their cohort, kinda not surprising with the smartest kids and the practice.

Overall I think most kids wont be at a disadvantage through others prepping. At the top level and maybe Olympiad kids or those trying to go from Kangaroo to Olympiad prep happens, but for the rest there is little evidence anyone pays it much attention. I believe its still a strong test of natural ability and creativity over theory and all the prep in the world isn't going to make much difference.

What I do like about the UKMT exams is it's evidence of extra curricular stretch and is the main externally independently marked set of exams pre GCSE.

That's good to hear that most are also sitting it blind. If everybody was doing this it would make it senseless. I get that it isn't a traditional test but if it were just for the love of maths the children would just do maths questions at home or at school instead of taking them in a challenge against others. Also, if everyone were prepping, children who were sitting it blind would be at a distinct disadvantage. If only a few competitive types are prepping then it won't ruin it for naturally mathematically minded children.

It won't - my autistic DS was never prepped for olympiads but always got top marks, just because of the natural way autistic brain works.

As PP said, olympiads are not about advanced theoretical knowledge, it's more about mathematical creativity. You have to be a born mathmo to think that way and do really well at olympiads though ofc tutoring can improve results up to a certain point.

I believe I am the only parent at my DD's school who prepared for the JMC. In fact, I suspect half of the parents in the UK who actually prepared their children for JMC are in this MN thread!

It's not so much to test natural ability as much as it is to extend maths into areas that are not covered my the maths curriculum. It's a challenge not a test.

Some kids enjoy the challenge so let them crack on!

FYI, my DD attends a selective all-through independent school in London, yet the school provides zero preparation for the JMC. They don’t even offer past papers for familiarisation, instead choosing to ‘secretly’ enter top-set girls into the exam on the spot.
It is her parent—aka me—who has had to take it upon myself to research all the UKMT-related information. In my view, the point of the UKMT challenges isn't just to identify raw, 'natural talent.' The belief that high-level maths requires being a genius who can ace maths Olympiads easily without training is a myth that needs to be debunked. The true purpose should be to encourage able maths students and enhance their mathematical reasoning through preparation. A JMC/IMC/SMC medal is not a GCSE/A-level grade; it offers very little tangible benefit for school admissions. The real value lies in the process—using the challenge as a tool to build problem-solving skills and a deeper love for mathematics. My DD always finds competition maths problems much more fun. It is the everyday school maths that is technically closer to the definition of 'intenstively tutored'—characterized by daily, repetitive, and monotonous drills.

It just seems crazy. There are maths exams already. When my DS came home with the paper yesterday and said he and a couple of others in his class had been asked to do it I looked it up. The point seems to be to test for natural ability instead of testing curriculum but if a considerable number of the pupils taking it have been prepped, it will prevent the challenge from finding the natural ability it exists to find.

I can't comment on the others' approaches and my maths loving daughter is not competitive at all... her school take a similar approach as yours.

But I did give her prep exercises to do - past papers so she could get a feel for the questions, and she did an online course which suggested techniques.

I did this as I wanted to encourage her to focus a bit more on her interest in maths. She really enjoyed the exercises too as the mathematical approach is not like a typical school exercise.

She's not olympiad standard or anything, I just wanted to answer your question about why people prep.

Also, I know of a local grammar who do prep- the whole year are prepped and entered, so I had that in mind too.

It’s great to hear of the fantastic results dc have had.

However, to your point @Bourneyesterday there is definitely a known curriculum for the JMC and highly academic selective schools do a lot of prep for it. In response to that it seems the UKMT are just making it harder.

I really wonder about how well that meets the purpose which one would hope is trying to enthuse people about maths, not demoralise them by taking a harder test against people who have an unfair advantage from extensive prep.

I'm surprised to read these comments. My DS's school didn't even tell them anything about the paper and just gave it to them to do so they had no time to even look into what the challenge was. What's the point in children sitting it without any prior familiarisation of the questions when other children are learning how to complete past test papers? Is the point not to find children who are naturally good at maths, not children who have been intensively tutored?

This year DD1 (who has been kangeroo / best in school in, since y6) did the one for y9+ as shes now in y9

My DD2 who is very good at maths, but not at the "best in school" level as her sister took it (for the 3rd time)

I also work in their school and spoke to the person who invidulated the primary children (independant school with primary and seniors)
She has invidulated the junior maths challenge for the past 4 years and she believed that this one was harder than the others.

My DD2 said it was hard, but she didnt think it was much harder than last years.... (but she has had another year of maths lessons since)

I cant imagine DD2 will get through to kangeroo or anything... she'l be delighted if she gets bronze!

DD qualified for Kangaroo in y6 but also got a Gold certificate, not sure if that was just her school, but they gave everyone above the Gold threshold a Gold certificate (which said nothing further about Kangaroo) but then they told those who qualified for Kangaroo in person that they were going to sit an additional round.

We found the physical certificate in a folder in the cupboard, I don't know why but we totally forgot it had ever been issued. None of us in the family can remember. The certificate for the golds is just the name and then you get a small rosette in the top left corner if you are best in school or best in year. No gold certificate however gives any indication of follow on qualification to the Kangaroo or Olympiad rounds if these thresholds have been met. Instead there is a separate invitation from UKMT to sit the follow on, but we never saw that....if it existed.

I've found with mine that you can mentor, guide and steer but at moments in time they develop a passion for something else and that takes over. When this happens you just have to sit back and let them ride that out. Out of the blue my DD started Spanish Duolingo early in yr7 as a few friends at school were using it. She wasnt a novice after taking the subject in junior school. At first maybe in October she toyed with it, tried to increase levels then really went deep into it, a bit like she'd done with maths 2 yrs earlier, maybe 3-4 hrs a week all off her own back. Finished the whole app by the end of year 7. Like with the maths of yrs before she's got gaps here and there and over time is filling them in. Now in Yr8 the book she works through in class is a GCSE one, she is well advanced.

I think it's more likely than not that some (incl perhaps my DD) qualified for the Kangaroo but then the school never took the exam. @Jonny234

Could you check if the school provides physical certificates? I have seen online that the gold award comes as a certificate, and the kangaroo qualification is also a gold certificate but with a specific sticker on it.

Don't fret. You'll see it all come together over time.

Sure. I use maths competitions to help develop her thinking skills, and I am happy to see my DD has recently become obsessed with chess and has two tournaments coming up. It is proving to be a brilliant way for her to unwind. I have actually stepped back from the advanced mathematics for the next six months. I think a change of pace is exactly what is needed to stay fresh and let different skills complement each other.