Live Taught UKMT Senior Maths Challenge Preparation Courses (ages 16-18)
Whether you’re just starting your journey to the Senior Maths Challenge, or are aiming for a Gold Certificate or qualification for the Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds, Mathsaurus has live classes to help you prepare!
Senior Maths Challenge Intensive
A live-taught introduction to the Senior Maths Challenge. Learn what makes SMC problems unique, the most common topics that come up and strategies for solving multiple choice questions under timed conditions. This course covers a range of core topics and more advanced problems.
Sign up for the next available live taught option or take the recorded version at your own convenience
Live and Recorded Options Available
Teacher: Dr Kevin Olding
Live Dates: August (no more sessions in 2025)
Target grade: Silver/Gold Certificate + Follow-On Round Qualification
Recorded version available? Yes
SMC: The Warm-Up!
In the final weekend before the Senior Maths Challenge takes place, join Kevin live for some last-minute preparation and practice. Options for ‘Core’ (Silver/Gold) and ‘Advanced’ (Gold/Gold+) levels.
The warm-up courses will not be recorded.
Live Only – no recordings!
Teacher: Dr Kevin Olding
Dates: September
Target grade: Different Levels Available
Recording available? No
Reviews from past students:
About Your Teacher
Dr Kevin Olding MMATH (Oxon) LLB MSc MRes Phd FRSA
After obtaining First Class undergraduate and Masters degrees in Mathematics from Magdalen College, Oxford, Kevin taught maths at two of London’s leading independent schools – Westminster School and Dulwich College.
Whilst teaching, he studied for an MSc (Applied Statistics) at Birkbeck College, London where he won the Winton Prize for best overall performance. He went on to complete a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Bath, whilst continuing to tutor and teach students in person and online via Mathsaurus.
Kevin’s students have gone on to study at most of the UK’s leading schools and universities, including many Olympiad medal winners and PhD holders. But most importantly, they have also taken on his love for maths and problem-solving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the classes take place? How do they work?
All live-taught classes take place via Zoom. On signing up you will be e-mailed Zoom links to the classes. The links for each lesson will be sent to you again around 24 hours and 1 hour before each class. Self-paced courses and recordings can be accessed via your student dashboard.
What is your refund policy?
Bookings for these courses are not refundable, though if you have signed up and want to change to a different course, we will do our best to move you to another course if there is space, but this is not guaranteed. Live courses are never refundable or changeable after 24 hours before the start the first lesson in that course.
Can younger students attend the classes?
Yes, we regularly welcome advanced students into the classes who are younger than the target age group and are looking to get ahead. It is up to parents to decide when their students are ready for these classes. Our classes are generally more challenging than typical classes for this age group, so please start with a slightly more introductory course if you are not sure.
How interactive are the classes?
The classes are interactive – students can vote for their answers either in Zoom polls or the chat, depending on the format of the answers. Students are encouraged to ask questions throughout and often volunteer to go through solutions to the problems themselves.
Are the classes recorded?
Some of our classes are recorded – you can see which in the details of the classes above. For classes where recordings are available, we will aim to send links to the recordings out as soon as possible. These will only be available to view for a limited time after the class and then will be deleted. Students always have the option to keep their cameras and microphones off during the class. By signing up to a course you consent to them being included in these recordings.
Recordings are not guaranteed. For some courses we do not make recordings and occasionally we may not be able to send recordings of other classes due to technical or other constraints. For any courses where recordings are not available, we will instead circulate a pdf of the content covered in the class to everyone registered.
I still have a question – how can I contact you?
Yes, you can see more info and FAQs on the page here, and there is also a contact form, so if you have any further questions, please use that to get in touch and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
New to the SMC?
Take a look at the page here to see information about how the SMC works, including FAQs answering all of your questions or a form to get in touch if you need more help.
Parents can also sign up for a free webinar where Kevin will talk you through all of the maths challenges, including how they work as well as the benefits students get from participating.
Preparing for the SMC?
For the most thorough preparation, sign up for a live-taught Zoom class above, all taught personally by Mathsaurus creator and maths challenge expert, Dr Kevin Olding.
Or see the page here for past papers, grade boundaries and our self-paced online courses, including a totally free course with real SMC questions with Kevin’s video hints and solutions.