Sit the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) at North Shore
Register for the AMC now
While computational thinking is the basis for the skills of the future, an even more foundational discipline is mathematical thinking.
As one of the largest and most prestigious mathematics competitions in the world, there is no better way to challenge and develop your mathematical thinking skills than the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC), run by the Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT) since 1976 and proudly hosted by North Shore Coaching College.
What is the Australian Mathematics Competition?
The Australian Mathematics Competition (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.
The AMC has been held annually since 1978, and is administered by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT), which is under the Trusteeship of the University of Canberra. Currently, students in over 30 countries sit this competition.
The AMC will be held in August, with five divisions: Middle Primary (years 3–4), Upper Primary (years 5–6), Junior (years 7–8), Intermediate (years 9–10) and Senior (years 11–12).
The AMC aims to be accessible to all students from Years 3 to 12, not just the mathematically gifted. There is an emphasis on problem solving, and the questions are designed to recognise and stimulate talent that is not so readily identified in normal assessment, and to be fun for the student. The problems are designed to test mathematical thinking rather than focus on calculations themselves, thus such questions are designed so that they can be answered just as quickly without a calculator as with one. The problems progressively become more difficult in the competition.
The Australian Mathematics Competition is scored in the following way for all year divisions:
- Questions 1-10, 3 marks each
- Questions 11-20, 4 marks each
- Questions 21-25, 5 marks each
- Questions 26-30 are worth 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 marks respectively.
There is no penalty for incorrect responses.
How does the AMC awards system work?
All students receive a certificate and a detailed report showing how they performed on each problem with wider statistical rankings. Over 1,000 students share the prizes and around 50% of participants qualify to receive a Certificate of High Distinction, Distinction or Credit. All other entrants in the competition receive a Certificate of Participation or a Proficiency Certificate. Medals are awarded to students with an outstanding result.
Read more about the AMC awards system on the Australian Mathematics Trust website.
How can I register for the AMC?
You can register for the AMC right on our North Shore website. Get in quick; seats are limited! Register online today!
Register for the AMC nowHow can I prepare for the AMC?
North Shore Coaching College has past AMC papers that may be purchased to assist your child to prepare for the examination. These past papers provide a valuable opportunity to gain test experience whilst acquainting candidates with the style and content of possible question types. Please visit the North Shore Shop to purchase AMC past papers, and many other educational resources. There are also some free resources provided by the AMT: the Practice Problems Platform and Sandpit.
Purchase AMC Past PapersHow else can I develop and enrich my child’s learning?
Stay tuned to the North Shore news page for updates about more competitions and assessments which play a vital role in our supplementing students’ learning, such as the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition. You can also register your interest for email updates about our competitions. In the meantime, check out our core term tutoring programs, which are designed to develop all the learning and thinking skills necessary for school and examination success, as well as our myriad of enriching curricular and extracurricular holiday programs.
