Mathsaurus for Teachers
Welcome to Mathsaurus! I’m Dr Kevin Olding, and I’ve been helping students aged 7–18 develop their mathematical thinking through live classes, online courses, and YouTube for over fifteen years.
There is a particular focus on more advanced students and those who enjoy the maths challenges and Olympiads. A huge amount of the content is free and many teachers have told me they have used the resources with their students, either with whole classes or as extension and enrichment material for high achievers. Others have told me that it has been useful for their own professional development and personal interest so I hope you will find something of use here.
Most of the resources are aimed directly at students but on this page you can find more information about the resources and some suggestions about how to use them, as well as some other materials directed at teachers. Please feel free to get in touch if anything isn’t clear.
Free maths challenge and Olympiad walkthrough courses
By far the most popular resources at Mathsaurus are the completely free courses where I work through past papers from the First, Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior maths challenges and their follow-on Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds.
These courses are made with permission from the AMiE and UKMT and are completely free and there are no external advertisements or other distractions. Teachers have told me they have used them in the following ways and more:
- Sending the courses to students taking the challenges to help them prepare and/or warm-up for an upcoming maths challenge or Olympiad
- Working through the courses in a computer room or on iPads with a complete class of students, either in lesson time or as a lunchtime or after-school club
- Setting them as extension or enrichment materials for strong students who finish their other work quickly
- For their own professional development and enjoyment
If you use them too, especially in any different ways, please do get in touch and let me know how you’re using them.
In addition to the free courses, there are some paid courses going in depth in various areas, as well as some live group classes at various times of year. At present these are available only to individual students and families.
Past papers and grade boundaries, all in one place
There are lots of free pages with past papers and grade boundaries for the UK maths challenges and also for other exams as well as tools where students can mark their challenge papers and see what certificate they would have achieved (currently for the Junior, Intermediate and Senior maths challenges, available on the relevant past paper pages).
Support for 11+, GCSE, A-Level and university entrance
As well as the resources for the maths challenges, there are also a range of materials and courses for school maths for ages 9-18. Some of this is more complete than others and is actively in development so please check back again regularly or create an account to receive updates.
Not just for your strongest mathematicians
Challenge and olympiad questions are perfect for stretching your most able students and many students are incredibly enthusiastic about them. But they’re not just for extension and enrichment.
I’ll acknowledge that I’ve mostly taught in schools with relatively strong students, but I’ve always found that maths challenge questions were a fantastic resource for all of those students. It’s not always easy to find the time to incorporate maths challenge content into lessons, but I really believe that the problem-solving and mathematical skills the challenges develop can be beneficial to all students, not just the strongest ones.
If you’re a Head of Department or thinking about your own professional development, the questions are also really excellent conversation starters about how to teach and learn mathematics.
Free webinars for parents and teachers
I offer regular free webinars to explain the 11+, the maths challenges and how it all fits together. They’re made for parents, but they’re just as useful for teachers. Even when live webinars are not available, recorded versions of previous webinars are always available. Sign up for a free webinar here.
More teaching tools and advice
I also sometimes share advice on teaching maths, including my popular videos on teaching maths online, along with other tools and resources I rate. Tools and tips for teaching maths.
Ready to get started?
You’re welcome to create an account or sign back in here at any time.
Teacher FAQs
Is everything free?
A huge amount of Mathsaurus is completely free: the video lessons, the worked solutions, the “Get Ready” past-paper courses, and all the past-paper and grade-boundary pages. There are also some paid courses, including the self-paced “Go for Gold” courses, live Zoom classes and Gold membership, but you never need to purchase anything or enter any payment details to use the free content.
Do you have any scholarships available?
We do not currently have any scholarships or bursaries available for any of the paid content. Instead, it is our aim to continue to make the free content available as comprehensive and useful as possible.
Are the free courses suitable to use in class?
Yes. There are no ads or distractions, and the course player works on computers, iPads, tablets and even phones, so they’re well suited to a computer room or a set of tablets.
Can I create my own account?
Yes, the best way to get started is to create a free account for yourself and to explore the courses and resources before sharing with your students. You’ll also be added to our mailing list (and whilst I hope you’ll stay you’ll also see how easy it is for you and your students to unsubscribe at any time!).
Can my students create accounts with school or personal e-mails?
Yes. Students can use any e-mail address to sign up for a free account.
Can I track my students’ progress and accounts as a teacher?
No. Students; accounts are individual and we don’t currently offer any way for schools to sign up or to track their students’ progress. If you want to check that students have worked through courses, we would recommend asking them to write up their work and solutions. It would also be possible for them to send you a screenshot showing their progress through the courses (though be warned they can achieve 100% by this method by just clicking through, so I would always recommend setting them a related task that demonstrates their work and understanding directly!)