This friendly, online, inter-school competition gives teams of Year 3 children the opportunity to apply their mathematics knowledge and teamwork skills to solve problems and answer challenging questions, putting their reasoning skills to the test.
Teams from any school, within Hertfordshire, across the UK and overseas, are warmly welcomed to take part in this competition as all Heats and the Final will be held remotely. Teams will be able to join the competition from their own classrooms or school.
The hour-long heats will comprise of a set of 4 equally-weighted rounds.
- Round 1: General maths questions
- Round 2: Estimation round
- Round 3: Spot that shape! (completed in school)
- Round 4: More general maths questions
Each team member will receive a certificate for taking part.
The top 20 scoring teams from across the heats will be invited to take part in the Grand Final. Every finalist will receive a certificate and the winners will receive the trophy, engraved with their school name, to display proudly in school until the next year’s Year 3 Mathematics Challenge takes place. Graphic illustration of children of all races and abilities wearing maths symbols on their clothing
Each round relies on much more than mere mathematical calculation. Teams will be challenged with problem-solving, reasoning, estimation, visualisation and arithmetic from across the Mathematics curriculum.
2024 Year 3 Maths Challenge – Get involved…
Schools can choose between four identical, live online heats in the summer term. Schools may enter as many teams as they wish at a cost of £35 per team.
To enter your Year 3 class teams into this year’s HFL Education Year 3 maths challenge, please book onto one of the following heats via the HFL Education Hub.
HEAT 1: Thursday 6th June 2024, 1:30pm – 2:30pm
HEAT 2: Thursday 6th June 2024, 3:30 – 4:30pm
HEAT 3: Monday 10th June 2024, 1:30 – 2:30pm
HEAT 4: Monday 10th June 2024, 3:30 – 4:30pm
The Grand Final will take place on Tuesday 25th June 2024, 1.30 – 3:00pm and finalists will be invited to attend following the heats.
Download the HFL Education Year 3 Maths Challenge Event Guidance and Practice Questions for an explanation of structure of the event and a flavour of the types of questions and problems the Year 3 teams will work together to solve.
There are hints and tips about how to solve different types of problem and about how to work well as a team.
Download free challenge materials
Each PowerPoint contains question slides and answers in the notes section underneath each slide. In the live heats and final, teams have two minutes to complete each question.
2023 Year 3 Maths Challenge
800 pupils (200 teams) took part in the Year 3 Maths Challenge in May 2023.
2023 Winners: Kingsway Junior School, Watford
Feedback from the 2023 Year 3 finalists:
Our top tip for teamwork is to divide and conquer!
Year 3 team from St Albans High School for Girls.
It was so much fun. We all love maths and want to be mathematicians when we are older.
Year 3 team from St Michael’s JMI, Bishop’s Stortford.
Our favourite question was the domino estimation question because it was fun and tested our brains to calculate and estimate simultaneously.
Year 3 team from Meryfield Primary School, Borehamwood.
Find out more about the 2024 Year 3 and Year 4 maths challenge events.
HFL Education Year 4 maths challenge
HFL Education Year 5 maths challenge
HFL Education Year 6 maths challenge
Sign up to our Primary Maths Newsletter for updates about the Year 3 Mathematics Challenge and from the wider world of primary maths.
For further information about the Year 3 maths challenge or for support with problem-solving and challenge in your school, contact the HFL Education Primary Maths Team at primarymaths@hfleducation.org.
