The Junior Kangaroo and Junior Maths Olympiad are follow on rounds to the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. If you have qualified or want to try out some of the questions try this free online course working through the 2019 papers!
To learn more about how to qualify for the Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds, including making discretionary entires, take a look here!
I also run some live-taught Zoom classes in the run-up to these competitions – take a look here if you would like to attend.
Junior Kangaroo Grade Boundaries
The Junior Kangaroo is scored much like the Junior Maths Challenge, with all questions being multiple choice. Questions 1-15 are given 5 marks each and questions 16-25 6 marks each, with no penalties for wrong answers. Certificates of Merit are awarded to the top 25% of students taking part, and all entries receive certificates of qualification. (To see the scores needed to qualify from the Junior Maths Challenge see the page here.) Past papers for the Junior Kangaroo are available from the UKMT website here.
| Year | Score required for Merit |
| 2022 | 97+ |
| 2021 | 97+ |
| 2020 | No Kangaroo paper due to pandemic |
| 2019 | 89+ |
| 2018 | 96+ |
| 2017 | 89+ |
| 2016 | 95+ |
| 2015 | 96+ |
Junior Mathematical Olympiad Grade Boundaries (JMO)
The JMO has two sections. Section A has 10 questions worth one mark each – they are not multiple choice but have a single numerical answer. The six questions in section B are worth up to 10 marks and require full written answers. Marks for section B depend on the clarity of presentation and explanation (i.e. your working out!) as much as the answers themselves. A solution with a correct answer may only score 2 out of 10 if not accompanied by any working. An incomplete solution without the right answer might score 2 or 3 marks, and near complete and complete solutions could score 8,9 or 10 makes each. Past papers for the JMO are available from the UKMT website here.
There are two sets of boundaries for the JMO – firstly there are boundaries for book prizes/distinction and merit. There are also boundaries for Gold/Silver/Bronze medals, which will be detailed in the next section. The top 50 (50 people not percent!) scorers receive a book prize. Then the top scoring 25% of candidates receive a certificate of Distinction, and all candidates who have made a good attempt receive a Certificate of Merit. Any student who qualified directly from the Junior Maths Challenge will receive a Certificate of Qualification (see this page for qualifying scores).
| Year | Book Prize | Distinction | Merit |
| 2022 | 29 | 16 | |
| 2021 | 56 | 37 | 12 |
| 2020 | no JMO | due to | pandemic |
| 2019 | 59 | 45 | 8 |
| 2018 | 48 | 32 | 8 |
| 2017 | |||
| 2016 | 52 | 34 | 8 |
| 2015 | 45 | 28 | 8 |
Junior Mathematical Olympiad Medal Boundaries (JMO)
There are also boundaries for Gold/Silver/Bronze medals. Gold medals are awarded to the top 30 students, Silver to the next 60 students and Bronze to the next 120 students taking the paper. (Section B scores of 4 marks or lower do not count towards the medal scores, only attempts to individual questions scoring 5 or above)
| Year | Gold Medal | Silver Medal | Bronze Medal |
| 2022 | 48 | 41 | 34 |
| 2021 | 57 | 47 | 37 |
| 2020 | no JMO | due to | pandemic |
| 2019 | 59 | 55 | 45 |
| 2018 | 48 | 40 | 33 |
| 2017 | |||
| 2016 | 55 | 44 | 35 |
| 2015 | 46 | 37 | 27 |