Mathematics association first maths challenge?

[Pennyslotmachine]

Does anyone know anything about this? DC has come home with a gold certificate & is thrilled (they don’t generally win awards at school so this is a Big Deal). I didn’t know they were doing the challenge, can’t find much online (the website doesn’t really give any info) & DC is now on summer holidays so can’t ask school. Just curious to know more really!

I should know more, but they are optional challenges schools can enter their more able mathematicians into. I understand they're not straightforward school maths, more about novel application and spotting shortcuts I think. It is meant to be fun for kids who like a challenge.

I think they start at upper primary and go on to at least y10 if not higher.
If you do well enough you get a gold certificate (also silver and bronze)
Then at some age the ones who do best in the first round go through to further ones, I've heard the names Blue Kangaroo and also Olympiad.

If you search across the education boards (especially the secondary one) using the term Olympiad you'll probably get some hits.

Well done your DC.

@TeenDivided thanks so much for replying, really helpful.

Well done to him!

If you look on the webiste https://www.primarymathschallenge.org.uk/
and then click on First Maths challenge, it gives a little information. But if you then use the drop down arrow at the top, you can see past papers, which is perhaps more helpful!

Both the First Maths Challenge and the Primary Maths Challenge are great introductions to this type of challenge, using maths they already know but putting it together in different ways and solving problems, using logic etc. Children who enjoy these might then go on to enjoy the UKMT challenges in secondary school (from Junior (yr 7-8) on up).

It is a 45 min online quiz aimed at lower KS2 (Years 3 & 4), questions start easy and get harder so the idea is that everyone can take it and you get further in the more able you are. It is word-based maths/logic puzzles - a few are straight 'maths problems' and others are the 'how many triangles in this picture of overlapping triangles' type thing.