FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Pangea Maths Competition?
The Pangea Maths Competition is an annual mathematics challenge held in 21 European countries and now for the first time being held in the UK.
What are the aims/goals of the Pangea Maths Competition?
The purpose is to promote and encourage mathematics among students in primary and secondary schools worldwide.
Where can I learn more?
The following websites, as well as your mathematics teacher, will provide you with any information you may need. (The websites are updated to bring the latest information on the Pangea Maths Competition)
http://www.pangea-maths.org/ (results found here)
Pangea Official International website (in German):
http://www.pangea-wettbewerb.de
Which schools are doing Pangea Maths UK?
All types of schools in the UK as well as International Schools outside the UK conditioned that they are following the British Curriculum
How do I become part of it?
Teachers can register their classes online at http://www.pangea-maths.org/ under Online Application Form. If you are the Head of Maths you can register your whole school by yourself.
After this quick registration, you will be provided with your unique login details to log in through our website (right top corner), register your students (Only full names and their Year Groups) and see all relevant information necessary for the competition.
Do not worry if you are planning to register the whole school or large numbers and don’t have time to do the registration of the individual students, just send us your student list (Just full names, Class Name and Year Group) and we will do the whole registration at our end.
Students cannot individually apply, they must ask their teachers to do it on their behalf.
Who can join/What age group can apply?
All students from Year 4 to Year 10 in England and Wales (Primary 5 to Secondary 4 equivalence in Scotland and Northern Ireland).
Click here to download the conversion table of school years.
When is the deadline to apply?
28 January 2019.
Does it cost money?
No, it is completely free to enter (No hidden costs).
As Pangea is a charitable project, we get the necessary funding from our sponsors.
How will we get the question sheets?
Pangea is a digital competition and the exams are taken online. If the school has an IT Lab then the students can sit the online version of the relevant test. All login details will be shared before the exam. This is the most practical way of participating in the 1st Round of the competition.
On the other hand, 2nd Round (Final Round) will be a paper-based exam.
What kind of maths is involved?
The maths involved is similar to the maths you do in school, nothing beyond the school curriculum is asked.
Sample Questions (First Round Questions 2017-2018)
Primary
Secondary
Click to download the answer key.
Is the maths involved difficult?
The first round is designed to be easy enough that anybody can do it. Of course, the maths problems increase in difficulty after each round. However, those with an appreciation for maths should find no trouble in doing very well.
How does the competition proceed?
Tutors will subscribe individual students, classes, or even the whole school online to the competition. Every teacher initially registers online at the above website and fills in the application form. The teachers can track the entire competition process and the results from the website. The competition is split into 2 parts, the first round and the final round; the first round consists of 20 multiple-choice questions to be answered within 35 minutes. The top students from the first round will reach the final round from each year group. In the final round, there will be 15 multiple choice questions and 2 additional problem-solving questions to be solved in 35 minutes. These will be trickier to solve than the questions in the previous round and will decide whom the prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals will go to.
Note 1: The last 2 problem-solving questions do not form an official part of the final round and are only marked when multiple students get the same results on the first 15 multiple choice questions. In other words, the Pangea Maths jury can find the winner based on the student answers given to the additional questions if two or more contestants get the same score out of the 15 multiple choice questions.
Note 2: The final round scores on the system (Parent/Student Portal or Mobile App) will only include the marks out of 15 multiple choice questions so there should not be any confusion if two students seem to have the same score while only one of them has the winner place. It is merely because of the very reason explained in Note 1. Also you may not see a detailed report for the finals unlike the 1st Round scores due to the fact that majority of the students are not familiar with OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) Answer Sheets and our scanners cannot provide accurate results if papers are scratched or crossed, which is why some of the Final Round marking is done by our Maths teachers on the same day and the results are announced after a second check by the Pangea Maths Jury. Unfortunately the Jury decision cannot be challenged or changed retrospectively and we cannot share the question details due to our confidentiality policy on final round questions which are potentially used by all European countries on different dates, therefore, we have to make sure the questions are not shared publicly to preserve the validity and reliability of the tests at all participant countries.
How will we know the results?
The competition results for the 1st Round are usually announced about two or three weeks after the exam deadline. The schools of the participants that are qualified for the final round will be contacted by email (or phone in need).
Where is the competition held?
The first round is up to the individual schools and is done in the schools themselves during mathematics class time.
The second (final) round is held at Middlesex University – Hendon Campus in London. The exact address is Hendon Campus, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, London, NW4 4BT.
When is the competition held?
The first round could be done at any time/day of the week between the 4th and 16th March 2019, as long as it is completed by the deadline (5pm on 16th March 2019).
The second (final) round is held at 11am on Saturday, 4th May 2019.
How are the finals held?
The finals will be held on 4th May 2019 from 11 am to 12 pm (25 mins of settling and instructions and 35 mins of test duration), followed by a recess after which the award ceremony will be held in the same auditorium from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.
What are the prizes?
First Prize: £150 voucher + Gold medal + certificate
Second Prize: £100 voucher + Silver medal + certificate
Third Prize: £75 voucher + Bronze medal + certificate
There will be three winners who will receive the above prizes from each year group. All students who take part in the finals will receive certificates of participation. The school with the most participants will receive an iPad.
Is There a Competition Poster to Display at My School?
Yes, there is. Please click to download this year’s competition poster.
Is the online version of the test suitable to be completed on an iPad or does it have to be done on a computer?
The online test needs to be done on a computer.
Do we need to have a specific program installed beforehand?
Our online answer platform runs better on Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. In order to run the program, Adobe flash player should be installed on the computer.