Junior Maths Challenge, Kangaroo & Olympiad — Past Papers and Tuition
Every UKMT Junior Maths Challenge, Junior Kangaroo and Junior Mathematical Olympiad paper going back to 2011, with solutions — collected and kept up to date by Kevin Holdstock, a full-time private maths tutor for 14 years.
Got a child who finds school maths too easy? Here's what I'd do with them →
Working with young mathematicians who are ahead
I'm Kevin. I've been a full-time private maths tutor for 14 years — well over 10,000 hours now, and hundreds of students. Sessions are one hour a week, one to one, online. £120 an hour.
Why this work matters more than it looks
If your child is one of the strongest mathematicians in their year, school lessons aren't really built for them. They'll get the answers right, finish early, and never actually be stretched — and that's a shame, because this is exactly the age where the interesting thinking starts.
The Junior Maths Challenge and the rounds after it are genuinely good problems. They're not about knowing more content than school has taught. They're about looking at something unfamiliar, working out what's actually being asked, and finding a way in. That's a completely different skill from doing exercises, and it's the one that pays off later — it's the same skill that separates an A from an A* at A-Level, five or six years down the line.
What we'd actually do
Problem-solving properly taught
Working through past papers together, but more importantly working on the approach — what to try first, how to spot the structure in a problem, what to do when you're stuck. Most students have never been taught any of this explicitly.
Writing solutions, not just answers
The Olympiad especially is marked on whether you can set out a clear, logical argument — not just whether the answer's right. That's a hard skill to pick up on your own, and a very useful one to have early.
Building towards what comes next
A lot of the students I start with in Year 6 or 7 stay with me right through to their GCSEs and A-Levels. Starting here means we're not playing catch-up later — we're building on something.
Testimonials
"We were very fortunate to have Kevin as our son's maths tutor. Kevin is an outstanding teacher who not only possesses exceptional mathematical knowledge and problem-solving techniques, but also inspires a genuine love of mathematics in his students. He achieved a Merit in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, won a Gold Award in the Grey Kangaroo, and was also awarded a King's Scholarship to Eton College."
JMO Merit · Grey Kangaroo Gold
UKMT junior competitions
These are aimed at students in Year 8 and below. Schools enter students for the Junior Maths Challenge, and the top scorers are invited to one of the follow-on rounds.
Junior Maths Challenge (JMC)
A 60-minute multiple choice paper. It rewards mathematical reasoning and fluency rather than content knowledge — the questions are designed to make you think, not to test what you've been taught that term.
Junior Kangaroo
A follow-on round from the JMC, similar in style but a step up in difficulty. Invitation is based on your JMC score.
Junior Mathematical Olympiad
The other follow-on round, and a different kind of paper entirely — two hours, six Olympiad-style questions, and the marks go on writing a clear, well-structured solution rather than simply getting to the answer.
Past papers
Papers run newest to oldest here — unlike an exam course there's no syllabus to work through in order, so start wherever suits.
| 2025 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2024 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2023 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2022 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2021 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2020 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2019 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2018 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2017 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2016 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2015 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2014 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2013 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2012 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
| 2011 | Question Paper | Solutions | Extended Solutions |
One hour a week. One to one. Properly stretched.
Weekly online sessions built around problem-solving and the kind of thinking these competitions actually reward — not more content, just a proper challenge, and someone teaching you how to approach it.
£120 per hour