Intermediate Maths Challenge Past Papers and Grade Boundaries
Access all past IMC papers, official solutions, and grade boundaries. Practice with real questions and see what scores you need for each certificate level.
Intermediate Maths Challenge Past Papers
Take our free IMC course
Our free Intermediate Maths Challenge course takes five complete IMC papers question by question, with a short video hint before every solution so you get the chance to solve it yourself, and the full worked solution when you want it.
All past papers are hosted on the UKMT website. The most recent papers are usually available a few days after the challenge.
Video Solutions: Questions from 2021-2026 have Kevin's video solutions available - either through our free course or detailed walkthroughs on YouTube (linked in the table below).
| Year | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | YouTube |
| 2025* | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Course · YouTube |
| 2024 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Course · YouTube |
| 2023 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Course · YouTube |
| 2022 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Course · YouTube |
| 2021 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | Course · 1-5 · 6-10 · 11-15 · 16-20 · 21-25 |
| 2020 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
| 2019 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
| 2018 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
| 2017 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
| 2016 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
| 2015 | Paper | Solutions | Extended | — |
*In 2025, due to a clash of school holidays, schools in China participated in an alternative IMC Paper, hosted by ASEEDER. The certificate thresholds were: Bronze 54+, Silver 69+, Gold 89+
Intermediate Maths Challenge Grade Boundaries and Qualification Thresholds
Take our Go for Gold course
Aiming for a higher certificate next year? Go for Gold starts with the techniques behind the questions, covering surds, recurring decimals, Pythagoras, circles and problems with two variables, then sets you 75 original questions of its own to practise on.
I'm often asked to guess what will this/next year's boundaries - my best guess is always that they will most likely be similar to the last few years, but I don't have any more info than that. This table will be updated as soon as possible once the boundaries are released.
On a phone, scroll the table sideways to see the Kangaroo and Olympiad thresholds.
| Year | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Grey | Pink | Cayley | Hamilton | Maclaurin | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 46 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 86 | 93 | 98 | 5th Feb |
| 2025 | 37 | 52 | 72 | 72 | 82 | 105 | 110 | 116 | 6th Feb |
| 2024 | 47 | 61 | 77 | 72 | 84 | 101 | 106 | 110 | 9th Feb |
| 2023 | 42 | 55 | 71 | 67 | 77 | 95 | 100 | 103 | 15th Feb |
| 2022 | 50 | 65 | 81 | 65 | 81 | 101 | 111 | 117 | 2nd March |
| 2021 | 55 | 68 | 86 | 68 | 86 | 100 | 110 | 118 | |
| 2020 | 60 | 72 | 89 | 80 | 89 | 110 | 117 | 120 | |
| 2019 | 43 | 55 | 71 | 65 | 73 | 91 | 99 | 106 | |
| 2018 | 48 | 59 | 73 | 68 | 76 | 93 | 100 | 104 | |
| 2017 | 47 | 61 | 78 | 72 | 81 | 97 | 106 | 112 | |
| 2016 | 40 | 50 | 62 | 60 | 66 | 81 | 89 | 95 | |
| 2015 | 37 | 49 | 64 | 61 | 68 | 81 | 88 | 95 | |
| 2014 | 42 | 55 | 72 | 67 | 78 | 90 | 96 | 103 | |
| 2013 | 47 | 59 | 74 | 73 | 84 | 88 | 96 | 103 | |
| 2012 | 50 | 62 | 77 | 77 | 87 | 90 | 96 | 101 | |
| 2011 | 47 | 59 | 78 | 77 | 88 | 92 | 99 | 104 | |
| 2010 | 45 | 56 | 70 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 91 | 97 | |
| 2009 | 39 | 51 | 66 | 66 | 77 | 83 | 90 | 99 | |
| 2008 | 42 | 54 | 70 | 70 | 82 | 85 | 95 | 102 | |
| 2007 | 50 | 63 | 78 | 78 | 86 | 90 | 97 | 103 | |
| 2006 | 46 | 58 | 72 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 92 | 99 | |
| 2005 | 40 | 50 | 65 | 64 | 72 | 76 | 85 | 90 | |
| 2004 | 40 | 51 | 68 | 67 | 79 | 84 | 93 | 100 | |
| 2003 | 46 | 58 | 74 | 75 | 86 | 88 | 98 | 101 | |
| 2002 | 53 | 62 | 72 | ||||||
| 2001 | 32 | 43 | 57 | ||||||
| 2000 | 40 | 55 | 73 | ||||||
| 1999 | 50 | 64 | 80 | ||||||
| 1998 | 40 | 53 | 70 | ||||||
| 1997 | 55 | 66 | 81 |
Before 2003 there was a single Kangaroo and Olympiad round for all year groups - we do not have qualification boundaries for these years.
IMC Interactive Results Calculator
Got your answers ready? Use our interactive IMC Answer Checker to instantly calculate your score from any past paper (2015-2025) and see if you've earned a certificate or qualified for the follow-on rounds.
Qualified for Kangaroo or Olympiad Rounds?
Congratulations! The follow-on rounds are a fantastic opportunity to push your mathematical thinking further.
We have preparation resources for the Grey and Pink Kangaroos and Cayley, Hamilton and Maclaurin Olympiads:
- Free practice courses with past paper video solutions
- Live preparation classes running each year in February/March
Just missed the threshold? You may still be able to enter through discretionary entry - see below.
Missed the Kangaroo or Olympiad threshold?
Don't give up yet - you might still be able to enter!
Schools can enter students through discretionary entry if you were close to the automatic qualification mark. This is especially common for:
- Students 1-3 marks below the threshold
- Younger students who showed strong performance
- Students who missed the IMC but still want to take the follow-on rounds.
What to do:
- Check the grade boundaries above to see how close you were
- Speak to your maths teacher or head of department
- Ask if your school will support a discretionary entry
- If they agree, they can enter you when registrations open
Want to prepare anyway? Our Kangaroo and Olympiad courses welcome both automatic qualifiers and discretionary entries.