Junior Mathematical Challenge

Competition date: Wednesday 5th May 2027

A 60 minute, 25 multiple choice Challenge. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to make students think. The problems on the Junior Mathematical Challenge are accessible yet still challenge those with more experience

Time limit
60 minutes

Price
£16 per pack of 10 posted papers.
£15 per pack of 10 download and print in school.

Please note:
All UKMT Competitions are now paper-format only.

Age group
England, Wales and Overseas: Year 8 and below
Scotland: S2 or below
Northern Ireland: Year 9 or below

Deadline for Braille/Large Print paper orders
Wednesday 7th April 2027

Deadline for physical paper purchases:
Wednesday 14th April 2027

Deadline for downloadable paper purchases
Wednesday 5th May 2027

Competition Date
Wednesday 5th May 2027

Deadline for paper answer sheets upload
Thursday 6th May 2027 (by 11:59pm)

How it works

1

Register your school

2

Purchase entries

3

Sit challenge

4

Receive results

For full information on how to host the Junior Mathematical Challenge please visit the Competition Handbook.

Instructions

The use of blank paper for rough working is allowed; squared paper, calculators and measuring instruments are forbidden.

Use a B or an HB non-propelling pencil.

Do not expect to finish the whole paper in the time allowed. The questions in this paper have been arranged in approximate order of difficulty with the harder questions towards the end. You are not expected to complete all the questions during the time. You should bear this in mind when deciding which questions to tackle.

The questions on this paper are designed to challenge you to think, not to guess. You will gain more marks, and more satisfaction, by doing one question carefully than by guessing lots of answers. This paper is about solving interesting problems, not about lucky guessing.

To accommodate candidates in other time zones, please do not discuss any aspect of the paper on the internet until 8am GMT on Friday 7th May 2027. Candidates in time zones more than 2 hours ahead of GMT must sit the paper on Thursday 6th May 2027 (as defined locally).

Past Papers

Download UKMT’s free past papers to help students achieve better results.

Maths Books

Browse UKMT’s range of maths books and older past papers at our online shop to help you and your students prepare for maths challenges.

Recommended Textbooks

The Junior Bundle

£30

Ten Years of Mathematical Challenges

£15

Junior Problems

£19

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