Start an Olympiad club
A short practical guide. Everything it links to is free, and none of it needs a pupil account.
Who the club is for
Pupils who enjoy maths problems and would like harder ones than lessons give them. That includes pupils preparing for a maths challenge or olympiad, but it doesn’t have to be limited to them. Invite widely at first; the placement test sorts out levels, so a mixed group isn’t a problem.
Group size
Somewhere between six and fifteen pupils is easiest to run, because discussion still reaches everyone. With more than that, seat pupils in threes and fours and take one idea from each table in the discussion. A club of two or three works too: spend longer on the discussion and less on the main set.
Session length
45 to 60 minutes, weekly. A lunchtime or an after-school slot both work. Meeting every week matters more than a long session.
Do pupils need competition experience?
No. Stage 1 is pitched at UK Junior Maths Challenge, CEMC Gauss, AMC 8, and needs no mathematics beyond what pupils have met in class. What’s new for most pupils is being given a problem with no method attached, and the club is where they get used to it.
Placing pupils
In the first session, pupils take the placement test on a computer, tablet or phone, with pen and paper beside them. It asks 12 questions, adjusts as they answer, and suggests a stage between 3 and 7. Ask them to note it down: the result stays on the device and isn’t sent to you.
Set the club’s stage at the middle of the group. Pupils who placed well above it can take the challenge problem each week, or work on their own stage alongside. A pupil who placed at 3 and found most of the test very hard should start at stage 1 or 2.
The weekly routine
Minutes for a full hour and for a 45-minute slot.
| 60 min | 45 min | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 5 | Warm-up problem. One accessible problem, tackled individually as pupils arrive. Take it from a stage below the group so everyone starts with something they can do. |
| 20 | 15 | Main problem set. Three or four problems at the group’s stage. Pupils work alone or in pairs and write down what they tried, including what didn’t work. |
| 15 | 12 | Discussion. Pupils compare methods before anyone is told the answer. Ask for a second way to reach the same result, and why each one works. |
| 10 | 8 | Solution walkthrough. Read one or two worked solutions carefully together. Stop at the key step and ask what might have suggested it. |
| 5 | 5 | Challenge problem. One harder problem to take away. Start the next session by asking who got anywhere with it. |
Ten-week programme
Four topic weeks, then mixed and harder problems, a timed sheet and a team challenge. Choose your club’s stage and each week’s worksheet link opens at the right level, with a student sheet and a teacher version.
| Week | Focus | Worksheet | Habit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Placement and a first sheet. Pupils take the placement test on a device and note the stage it gives them. Anyone who finishes early starts a short mixed sheet one stage below the club’s level. | 4 problems, mixed | Try small cases |
| 2 | Number theory. Divisibility, primes and remainders. When a problem is about every whole number, ask what happens for odd and even, or for each remainder on division by 3. | 5 problems, number theory | Split into cases |
| 3 | Combinatorics. Counting and arrangements. Ask pupils to show how they organised the count, not only the number they got. | 5 problems, combinatorics | Organise information systematically |
| 4 | Geometry. Every problem starts with a large, accurate diagram. Compare diagrams in the discussion: a good one often shows the answer. | 5 problems, geometry | Draw a diagram |
| 5 | Algebra. Equations, sequences and inequalities. Look for the substitution or rearrangement that makes the problem smaller. | 5 problems, algebra | Simplify the problem |
| 6 | Mixed problems. The topic is no longer given away. Before solving, each pupil writes down which kind of problem they think it is and why. | 5 problems, mixed | Look for patterns |
| 7 | Harder mixed problems. One stage up and fewer problems. Expect partial progress; the discussion is about what was tried and why it stalled. | 4 problems, mixed | Find an invariant |
| 8 | Timed competition-style sheet. Forty minutes, working alone, no hints, the way a competition paper is sat. Mark it together in the last part of the session. | 8 problems, mixed | Test conjectures |
| 9 | Reviewing strategies. Pick the topic the group found hardest in week 8 and choose it on the sheet. Spend the discussion on methods that worked across several problems. | 5 problems, mixed | Work backwards |
| 10 | End-of-term challenge. Teams of two or three, one stage up. Points for a correct answer and for a clear explanation of why it is right. | 6 problems, mixed | Explain why the method works |
Printable resources
- Club worksheets Any stage and topic, 3 to 10 problems, with a teacher version that has answers and worked solutions.
- The Teacher Pack (PDF) This guide and more, on twelve A4 pages to print or forward.
- Ready-made sets 50 sheets, one per stage and topic, each with an answer key.
- Problem-solving habits Ten habits to name when they come up, one a week in the programme above.
Elsewhere on the site
- The stagesWhat each stage asks of a pupil.
- Structured routesFor pupils working towards a particular competition on their own.
- The library19,153 more problems to search, by competition and topic.
- All teacher resourcesEverything for teachers on one page.