Singapore’s Best Math Competitions For Primary School Pupils

Math competition season is here!

Yes, you heard it right – the months of April to July make up the peak period for Math competitions and contests, with some already in full swing this April. For primary school students, this means being just in time for their competition results to be counted in their DSA applications to top secondary schools.

Talented and passionate primary school students in maths take part in these competitions every year, as it gives them an avenue to challenge themselves and gain recognition for their superior mathematics abilities.

This is no exception in our Math Olympiad training class! We regularly send our students to several competitions a year, enabling them to grow in confidence and experience through competing with other like-minded peers. Here are some of the recent awards by our students!

 

If you want to know more about the popular and prestigious math contests and competitions for primary school students in Singapore, read on for more below!

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Contests Open to Local School Students

The following math competitions and contests are open only to students enrolled in local schools. Students can only register through their school, and in some schools there may be a nomination process to select the best students to go for each contest.

A good number of these competitions are hosted by local schools, including top secondary schools like Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Institution, and NUS School of Math and Science. Many of these also welcome international students, but you have to be a student in a partner country or test centre.

Raffles Institution Primary Mathematics World Contest (RIPMWC)

As the name indicates, Raffles Institution Primary Mathematics World Contest (RIPMWC) is organised by Raffles Institution, one of Singapore’s most prestigious secondary schools. The contest runs with the aim to promote primary school students’ interest in Mathematics and hone their problem-solving abilities through friendly competition.

The annual competition takes place in two categories: Primary 1 to 5 students compete in the Junior Category, and Primary 6 students in the Open Category. Each category of participants will sit for two rounds of competitions.

Round 1: Online test, 20 questions in 60 minutes

Round 2: Written test, 15 questions (Junior Category) or 7 short answer and 4 long answer questions (Open Category) in 60 minutes

The top 30% of students will receive Distinction or Merit awards. Schools with 4 or more students participating will also be considered for the school team prizes.

Organised by: Raffles Institution

Eligibility criteria: Primary 1 to 6 students

2022 registration period: Registration has ended on 22 March

2022 competition dates:

Mock Contest – 12 to 24 March 2022

Round 1 – 29 March 2022

Round 2 – 28 April 2022

National Mathematical Olympiad of Singapore (NMOS)

National Mathematical Olympiad of Singapore (NMOS) is co-organised yearly by the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science and the Singapore Mathematical Society to cultivate a deeper interest in mathematics among primary school students, as well as to serve as a platform to build up new mathematical talents within the younger generation.

Open to students who have not yet entered Primary 6, the competition comprises two rounds:

Preliminary Round: 30 questions, 90 minutes

Special Round: 20 questions, 90 minutes

Attractive prizes and opportunities await the top scorers of NMOS, which include coaching for the International Mathematics and Science Olympiad for the top 20 winners; book vouchers for the top 10 winners; and cash prizes for the top 3 winners. There are also awards reserved for the top 30 participants, schools with the best performance, and top female participants.

Organised by: NUS High School of Math and Science, in partnership with the Singapore Mathematical Society

Eligibility criteria: Primary 4 and 5 students

2022 registration period: 1st March to 15th  April 2022

2022 competition dates:

Preliminary Round: 29 June 2022

Special Round: 26 July 2022

Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS)

Originally known as the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (SMOPS), this competition hosted by Hwa Chong Institution has been since renamed to reflect the inclusion of Asian-Pacific test centres and participants. Through the years, the unchanging objective of SMOPS / APMOPS is to foster greater interest in Mathematics within primary school pupils, while honing their problem-solving abilities.

Traditionally, in this two-round competition, students compete first locally at their test centres, before proceeding to the Invitation Round in Singapore.

First Round (known as SMOPS in Singapore): 30 questions, 120 minutes

Invitation Round: 14 questions, 100 marks

The top 20% of participants from the First Round will receive awards, and the top 20 participants will receive cash prizes. Schools with the highest scoring team will also receive trophies and cash prizes. Prizes in the Invitation Round are counted separately, which includes cash prizes for the top 10 participants, and medals for the top 40.

The contest organisers have kindly provided the list of topics and free sample questions for interested students to prepare for the competition. Scope of topics include but are not limited to:

• Arithmetic and Algebra
• Number Theory
• Geometry
• Combinatorics and Counting Principles
• Number Pattern and Puzzle
• Word Problems
• Logic Problems

Organised by: Hwa Chong Institution

Eligibility criteria: Primary 6 students (SMOPS) / Primary 5 (Junior SMOPS)

2022 registration period: March

2022 competition dates:

First Round – Thursday, 7^th April 2022

Invitation Round – Saturday, 28^th May 2022 (Subject to COVID-19 situation)

Mathlympics

The Mathlympics competition is Anglo-Chinese School’s version of the Math Olympiad competition, organised in conjunction with Learners’ Connections. Students below the study year of Primary 6 can enter and pit themselves against other young math whizzes.

Originally, the competition consists of two rounds: the Vault Round and Sprint section. But due to concerns over the COVID-19 situation, this year the two rounds will be condensed into one round, but with two sections. Topics include but are not limited to: Arithmetic, Number Theory, Combinatorics, Logic, Geometry, Measures and Measurement, and Algebra.

Vault Section: 28 open-ended questions

Sprint Section: 30 open-ended questions

The top 500 performers stand to receive the Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards depending on their performance, and schools with the highest number of award winners will also receive school awards.

If you need another reason to take part in this contest, know that Mathlympics will donate a percentage of their proceeds to the paediatric oncology programmes in SingHealth and Children’s Cancer Foundation, so you will also be contributing to a good cause by enrolling in this competition.

Organised by: Anglo-Chinese School with Learners’ Connections

Eligibility criteria: Primary 5 and below

2022 registration period: Registration ongoing till 27 May 2022

2022 competition dates: To be announced

International Junior Math Olympiad

Organised by the SIMCC for students in Asia, IJMO is a highly selective math competition that pits the top awardees from other notable Math Olympiads against each other. The goal is to identify and encourage young math talents through showcasing their potentials and abilities in math on a global stage.

Participants will represent their country in the prestigious competition, tackling questions and problems beyond their grade level. In particular, they will exercise and cultivate their level of conceptual understanding and logical reasoning abilities through the carefully crafted questions.

IJMO consists of only one round, with 3 sections in the test paper.

Paper is 30 questions in total

Section A: 10 questions, 2 points each

Section B: 10 questions, 3 points each

Section C: 10 questions, 5 points each

Organised by: IJMO with SIMCC

Eligibility criteria: Primary 2 to Secondary 4 students who have achieved at least Silver in SASMO or AMO, or Gold and above in SMKC may register

2022 registration period: June (expected)

2022 competition dates: To be announced

Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC)

SIMOC is another Math Olympiad competition with stringent entry requirements. Only those who have received top awards in other math contests like SASMO, SMKC, AMO, or DOKA may compete in SIMOC.

The inclusion of team challenges make this a math contest unlike the others, providing a unique way for students to compete and solve problems. Participants can expect to take part in three events:

Math Olympiad Contest: An individual written test, 25 questions in 90 minutes

Math Warriors Competition: Team-based, strategic thinking and mental math games

Mind Sports Challenge: Team-based, 10 IQ logic questions and 4 puzzles

Participants who do well will be awarded either the Perfect Score, Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards according to their performance.

Organised by: SIMCC

Eligibility criteria: Primary 2 to JC 2 students who have achieved top awards in SASMO, SMKC, AMO, or DOKA may register

2022 registration period: Open for registration, deadline not announced (as of April 2022)

2022 competition dates: 17th July 2022 (Tentative)

Contests Open to Private Candidates

For students who are not enrolled in a local school, or those who wish to enter various math competitions on their own, they may try their hands at the ones below. These are open to all students of the suitable age range, and some may accept international students as well.

Singapore And Asian Schools Math Olympiad

SASMO is one of the most established and recognised Math Olympiads in Singapore and Asia, counting over 20,000 students from almost 40 countries as its participants yearly. Just in Singapore, over 100 schools send their students to SASMO each year religiously.

Formulated by a council of Math professors and educators, the contest questions have a focus on non-routine problem sums, with a mix of ‘school math’ and ‘olympiad math’. Targeted at the top 40% of students in schools, SASMO endeavours towards stretching the untapped potential of students, helping them improve in their higher order thinking skills, as well as instil a sense of confidence and love for maths.

The contest comprises one test with two sections attempted over 90 minutes:

Section A:  15 MCQ (Correct answer – 2 points; Non-attempt – 0 point; Wrong answer – deduct 1 point)

Section B:  10 Non-routine Questions (Correct answer – 4 points; Wrong answer – 0 points)

Total: 85 points (to avoid negative scores, each student will begin with 15 points)

Awards will be given out to the top 40% of participants, along with a cash prize of $100 for each Perfect Score Award.

Organised by: SASMO with SIMCC

Eligibility criteria: Primary 2 to  JC 2

2022 registration period: Ended on 20 March 2022

2022 competition dates: 22 March to 17 April (For school candidates, their school will choose a date within the window); 9 to 10 April (For private candidates, the organisers will finalise your test date after registration)

Singapore Math Kangaroo Contest

Math Kangaroo is a brand of math contest run worldwide in over 92 countries, making it one of the most internationally-known math contests. Fun fact: the name came about because its first organisers (who were French!) were inspired by the Australian Mathematics Competition, hence ‘kangaroo’ as an ode to Australia!

Distinguishing itself from Math Olympiad, Kangaroo Math consists of ‘less-advanced’ questions that students can answer without any special training or advanced knowledge, in line with its goal to make math fun and enjoyable. Instead, the problems encourage them to think logically and from different perspectives.

In Singapore, SMKC is open to students from Primary 1 to JC 2. An outstanding feature of the test is that all questions are multiple-choice, but there is negative marking for wrong answers. Questions are arranged in increasing difficulty and the number of marks they are worth.

Primary 1 to 4: 24 questions in 90 minutes

Primary 5 and above: 30 questions in 90 minutes

The top-performing 40% of participants will receive Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards according to their scores, and the 40^th to 50^th -percentile of participants will receive an Honorable Mention award.

Organised by: Kangourou Sans Frontières with SIMCC

Eligibility criteria: Primary 1 to 6 students

2022 registration period: 22 to 31 March (school candidate); 26 to 27 March (private candidate)

2022 competition dates: To be announced

American Mathematics Olympiad

The AMO is organised by Southern Illinois University and developed by professional educators based on the US Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. As a globally-recognised competition, AMO boasts an extensive presence worldwide, including in Asia-Pacific nations, Columbia, Iceland, and more.

Set up with the vision of promoting students’ interest in math, AMO also encourages a deeper understanding and engagement with math, challenging students with uniquely-designed questions.

Participants will face one test paper with three sections, totalling 100 points.

Section A: 15 MCQ (45 points)

Section B: 5 Open-ended (25 points)

Section C: 5 Open-ended (30 points)

The coveted Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards go to the top 30% of participants, along with other benefits like scholarships, membership in the International Junior Honor Society (IJHS), tuition grant offers, internship offers, and more.

Organised by: Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Collaboration with SIMCC and Scholastic Trust Singapore

Eligibility criteria: Grades 2-12 (Primary 1 to JC 2)

2022 registration period: October – November (Expected)

2022 competition dates: To be announced 

Conclusion

Itching to exercise your math brain cells by competing in some of these competitions? The journey is as important as the destination! Proper training and practice will enhance the experience, equipping you with the skills and stamina to match up to your competitors.

Future Academy’s Math Olympiad training classes provide support and training to primary school pupils who wish to compete and beef up their academic resume. Led by experienced teachers, past Olympiad winners, and former national team coach, our training course systematically runs through common Math Olympiad concepts, questions, and problem-solving skills. Get a glimpse of our topical guide and exercises below!

If you think your child has what it takes, let us take them to a higher level! Enquire today to find out more about our curriculum.