Academic Competitions 2023
LAST DAY TO ENTER KSF AND PROBLEM CHALLENGE TODAY.
For the last few years we have offered our students the opportunity to participate in several academic competitions. These are for various age groups as explained in each description, along with the cost of each. These are optional for those who would like to give them a go.
KSF - Kangourou Sans Frontieres 30 March
In 1991, two French teachers inspired by the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) decided to start a similar online competition in France. They called it the ‘Kangaroo’ to pay tribute to their Australian friends.
The competition was a big hit and has since been adopted around the world. It is now known as Kangourou sans Frontières: (Kangaroo without borders). it has grown to become one of the largest international mathematics competitions in the world, with more than 6 million participants annually.
In Australia, Kangourou sans Frontières (KSF) is an online only, multiple-choice competition for years 3–12, and may only be entered by schools also competing in the Australian Mathematics Competition.
All papers have 30 questions except Middle Primary, which has 24. The primary papers are 60 minutes.
Registration for this competition closes 10 March
$10 entry
CAT Computational and Algorithmic Thinking 2 - 4 May
The Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition is a one-hour problem-solving competition designed to encourage student curiosity and promote multiple modes of thinking.
Neither teachers nor students need computer programming ability, but the competition helps identify students’ computer programming potential.
The competition is an ideal activity to encourage students to solve real-world problems. It is suitable for any mathematics class and the process helps students become more confident as they take on interesting new challenges.
The competition has a mixture of multiple-choice and integer answers and incorporates unique ‘three-stage tasks’ that encourage students to develop informal algorithms and apply them to test data of increasing size or complexity. The original problems are designed to be quick to solve and highly approachable, and range in difficulty from very easy to challenging. Some questions test the ability to perform procedures, others require logical thought, while the more challenging problems require the identification and application of algorithms.
$10 entry
OUCC - Oxford University Computing Challenge Dates TBC
The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) builds on the principles used in the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) and helps students develop their skills further to produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems. They will tackle problems using the Blockly programming language.
The OUCC is a two-round online competition held in term 2.
Each round consists of three sections. The first two sections are of five tasks each and the last is of two tasks, with the complexity increasing with each section. Students have one hour to complete all tasks within sections one and two and attempt the tasks in section three.
The four divisions are:
Upper Primary – All tasks will be Blockly tasks
Junior – All tasks will be Blockly tasks
Intermediate – Some tasks in sections 1 and 2 may be Blockly tasks
Senior – There is one Blockly task in section 2
The scoring system
A distinction is awarded for scoring 40 or above. A merit is awarded for scoring 25 or above.
Syllabus Area One
Strings, Output and Input
Mathematical and Logical Operators
Conditionals
Loops
Functions
Lists and Arrays
File Input/output – Intermediate and Senior only
Classes and Objects – Intermediate and Senior only
Syllabus Area Two
Logical Thinking
Algorithmic Thinking
Decomposition
Pattern Identification
Abstraction
Evaluation
De-bugging
$10 entry
AMC - Australian Maths Competition 2 - 4 August
The AMC is an engaging 30-problem competition that demonstrates the importance and relevance of mathematics in students’ everyday lives; it is open to students in years 3 to 12. Australia’s leading educators and academics, with a deep understanding of our national curriculum standards, actively design the unique AMC problems each year.
Teachers coordinate the AMC in schools. Our competition is fully online, with a paper version of the competition also available. We offer ongoing support and resources before the competition and on the day.
Held in term 3, the AMC has five divisions. of which we enter 3: Middle Primary (years 3–4), Upper Primary (years 5–6), Junior (years 7–8)
$10 entry
Problem Challenge
Problem Challenge is a mathematics problem solving competition aimed primarily at children in years 7 and 8. It is organised by John Curran and John Shanks, retired members of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago, with extensive secretarial help from Leanne Kirk, also of that Department.
Children participating in the competition attempt to answer five questions in 30 minutes on each of five problem sheets, which are done about a month apart starting in April.
$2 entry
Centre of Assessment Kiwi Competitions Terms 2 and 3
The competitions are administered by the Centre for Assessment and Monitoring (CAM) at the University of Canterbury. The competitions are open to all Year 5-8 students. They cover maths, english, science and spelling and students can enter as many or as few as they like.
$10 entry.
Please fill in the form below indicating which competitions your child would like to participate in. All fees will be charged to your school account.