December Holiday Mathematics Courses 2025: Your Complete Guide
Our Christmas holiday courses, running from 29 December 2025 – 2 January 2026, offer a unique opportunity for intensive mathematical development. While others take a complete break from learning, your child can make significant progress during this focused period. Whether they’re building on October’s foundations, preparing for January’s Intermediate Maths Challenge or 11+ exams or April’s Junior Maths Challenge, or just developing advanced problem-solving skills, we’ve designed four courses to help them excel.
The holiday format allows for five consecutive days of focused, 45-minute sessions. Students can build momentum, develop confidence, and see genuine progress without the pressure of fitting sessions around school commitments. It’s intensive mathematical development when minds are fresh and focused.
Course Overview
All courses run daily from Sunday 29 December 2025 to Thursday 2 January 2026, with 45-minute sessions each day. Every session will be recorded and available for at least one month after completion. This means you can catch up on anything missed, or review material as many times as needed.
Primary Maths Challenge Bonus Round and Advanced 11+ | 10:00 AM | Ages 9-11
Perfect for qualified students and 11+ preparation
If your child qualified for February’s Primary Maths Challenge Bonus Round based on their November performance, this course provides exactly the preparation they need for this nationally competitive follow-on round.
We’ll tackle the more sophisticated problem-solving techniques required for the Bonus Round – questions that demand deeper mathematical thinking and more systematic approaches than the main challenge. These problems require genuine mathematical reasoning, not just pattern recognition.
For students preparing for 11+ exams in January, this course is invaluable. The Bonus Round level of mathematical thinking aligns perfectly with what the most selective schools test. The multi-step problem-solving, logical reasoning, and numerical sophistication directly prepare students for those crucial entrance papers.
All questions will be Kevin’s original creations, based on analysis of previous Bonus Round papers and 11+ papers from top schools. It’s about developing the mathematical maturity to handle unfamiliar challenges with confidence. Students are very welcome whether or not they are actually taking the Bonus Round or 11+ – it will be great maths and problem-solving practice either way!
Junior Maths Challenge Advanced 2: Geometry, Shape and Space | 11:00 AM | Ages 11-13
Building geometric reasoning skills
If your child took our October Junior Core Topics or Advanced 1 course, this is the natural next step. Geometry, shape and space problems consistently appear in the hardest JMC questions, and many students find this area particularly challenging.
We’ll explore angle problems, area and perimeter challenges, coordinate geometry, and 3D visualisation problems. These topics require a different kind of mathematical thinking – more visual, more spatial, and often requiring elegant insights rather than computational power.
This course perfectly complements the arithmetic and algebra focus of Advanced 1. Together, they cover the complete range of advanced techniques needed for JMC Gold certificates and qualification for follow-on rounds.
Even if you didn’t take October’s courses, this is accessible to strong Year 7-8 students who are comfortable with basic geometry and want to develop more sophisticated spatial reasoning skills.
Intermediate Maths Challenge Advanced 2: Geometry, Shape and Space | 1:00 PM | Ages 13-16
Essential geometric techniques for IMC success
The January Intermediate Maths Challenge is just weeks away, and geometric problems consistently appear in the hardest questions. This course develops the sophisticated techniques needed for questions 20-25.
We’ll cover coordinate geometry at an advanced level, trigonometric problem-solving, properties of circles, and geometric proof techniques. These problems require both computational skill and geometric insight – the ability to see patterns in shapes and exploit them cleverly.
If you took our October IMC Core Topics or Advanced 1 course, this provides the geometric complement to that algebraic and numerical foundation. Together, they create comprehensive preparation for the full range of IMC challenges.
This course is essential for students targeting Gold certificates and hoping to qualify for the Grey/Pink Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds. The geometric reasoning developed here will serve them well in those follow-on competitions too.
Intermediate Maths Challenge Elite | 2:00 PM | Ages 13-16
For students targeting the very highest performance
This is our most challenging IMC preparation course, designed for students who want to push for the highest scores, Olympiad qualification, or who simply love tackling the hardest mathematical problems.
We’ll explore competition mathematics at its most sophisticated: elegant problem-solving techniques, advanced number theory, geometric insights, and the kind of mathematical thinking that separates good performances from exceptional ones.
The problems in this course go beyond typical IMC preparation. They develop mathematical maturity, pattern recognition, and the confidence to approach completely unfamiliar challenges. Students often find that after taking this course, even the hardest IMC questions feel more manageable.
This course is perfect for students who achieved Gold in previous challenges and want to push their boundaries, or for those who enjoyed the October Advanced courses and are ready for the next level of challenge.
Who Teaches These Courses?
All courses will be taught personally by Dr Kevin Olding. With a first-class MMath from Magdalen College, Oxford, and a PhD in Probability and Mathematical Finance, Kevin brings deep mathematical expertise to every session. He taught at some of the UK’s most prestigious schools, including Westminster School and Dulwich College.
For four years, Kevin wrote the 11+ entrance mathematics papers for one of London’s leading independent schools, giving him unique insight into what selective schools are actually looking for. Over nearly two decades of teaching, he has worked with thousands of students at every level, from those taking their first maths challenge to those competing in international Olympiads.
His approach combines mathematical rigour with a genuine understanding of how to make complex ideas accessible and enjoyable for students of all abilities.
Building on October’s Success
If you attended our October courses, recordings of those sessions are also being made available – some are there already and the others should be available to purchase by the start of the Christmas holidays at the latest from course pages. These December courses are designed to build naturally on that foundation, taking students to the next level of mathematical sophistication.
For those who missed October, don’t worry – each December course is designed to be accessible based on the level indicated, and Kevin’s teaching style ensures that all necessary background is covered as we progress.
Key Information
Recordings: All sessions are recorded and available for at least one month. If you can’t attend live, or if your child wants to review material, you’ll have full access to everything.
Age Groups: The age ranges are guidelines. Younger students who are working ahead are always welcome in higher-level courses. However, older students should stick to their age-appropriate level or higher.
Booking: You must book the complete course – individual sessions aren’t available separately. This ensures continuity and allows us to build concepts properly across the week.
Holiday Schedule: Running from 29 December through 2 January means we work through the New Year, including on New Year’s Day – perfect for students who want to start 2026 with enhanced mathematical confidence.
How to Book
All bookings can be made via the button here, or see more info at the page linked here:
Questions?
If you’re unsure which course is right for your child, feel free to email hello@mathsaurus.com for guidance based on their current level and goals. You can also sign up for a webinar with Kevin here – you can join an upcoming live session or watch a replay.
The Christmas holidays represent a unique opportunity for mathematical advancement. While maintaining the festive spirit, these five days of focused learning can provide the boost your child needs for upcoming challenges. Whether they’re preparing for February’s Bonus Round, January’s Intermediate Challenge, April’s Junior Challenge or building foundations for future success, these courses will help them progress with confidence while developing a deep appreciation for mathematical thinking.