We live in a dog-eat-dog world. Not only do we face challenges in order to survive everyday life, but we also have to cope with constant competition. The idea of having competition or having to compete can seem daunting, but since it is an inevitable part of human life, the sooner you get used to it, the better. In fact, once you get used to it, you will start seeing that competition is not all that bad. In fact, healthy competition helps make you grow and develop important life skills such as being a good sport, patience, and persistence. That is why as a parent, the earlier you expose your child to healthy and constructive competition and let him learn how to face it, the better his chances would be at succeeding in life.
Similar to other progressive nations, Singapore’s education system is a competitive one that promotes the idea of compulsory basic education, leaving no child behind and providing all children with equal opportunities for learning. It is also a system that has proven its ability to produce top ranking students time and time again, outperforming other students from more than 79 countries from around the globe in Reading, Science, and Mathematics. Most remarkable is that it is an education system that has developed an effective way of teaching Mathematics to its school children and has influenced other countries’ education systems and made them adapt what is now popularly known as “Singapore Math.”
Given these distinctions which Singapore and its Mathematics education is known for, it is only natural that its mathematically-inclined students thirst for Maths-related platforms that can test and push their math skills and abilities to their maximum potential. That is why Math Olympiads, contests and competitions play an important role in discovering young and talented Singaporean mathematicians at an early age—something that is instrumental in honing their math skills and abilities when it is most pliable; training them to have the best math competition strategies and techniques; and teaching them the values of sportsmanship, patience, and perseverance.
As a parent, it pays to know which Math competition platforms your child can train for and participate in to help him showcase his interests and talent. Here are some international Math Olympiad events that Singapore students can participate in:
• American Mathematics Olympiad (AMO)
The American Mathematics Olympiad (AMO), an affiliate of Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools, USA (MOEMS), is open to all Primary 2 to 6 and Secondary 1 to 3 students in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.
The actual contest runs for an hour and a half (1 hr. and 30 mins.) per level, with calculators not allowed for use during the contest duration. Olympiad results are posted on the AMO website at a later date. Click on the link to know more about the AMO: https://www.amo.sg/.
• Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad Primary School (APMOPS)
Inaugurated in 1990 and organised by the Hwa Chong Institution, the Asia Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS) is an annual event that aims to spark greater interest in Mathematics among primary school students and test and hone their math problem-solving skills. APMOPS began as the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad for Primary School (SMOPS), until it was renamed in 2002 as APMOPS as it now includes overseas candidates from Asia Pacific countries. For more information about APMOPS, click on this link: https://apmops.hci.edu.sg/.
• International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)
The oldest of the International Science Olympiads and the oldest of all international Math Olympiad contests in the world, the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical Olympiad for students in the pre-college level. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959, and has since been held annually except in the year 1980. The Olympiad includes candidates from more than a hundred countries, representing over 90% of the world's population, with each country sending teams of up to six students, one team leader, one deputy leader, and observers. To know more about IMO, click on this link: https://www.imo-official.org/.
• International Singapore Maths Competition (ISMC)
The International Singapore Maths Competition(ISMC) aims to encourage young students to compete mathematically at an international level and to identify the best talents among school-age children. Its syllabus is similar to the Singapore Maths (Primary) syllabus so students can take part in it even without beyond-the-classroom knowledge and special math training.
The ISMC has four exam papers: Primary 3, Primary 4, Primary 5 and Primary 6, with each paper using mathematics content from within the Singapore school syllabus. Unlike other mathematics competitions which have beyond-the-curriculum exam items, many of the ISMC problems are set in real-life situations that students can relate to in order to show the relevance of mathematics in everyday life. Click on this link to learn more about the ISMC: https://www.ismc.sg/index.
• Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS)
Created in 1977 by Dr. George Lenchner, an internationally known math educator, the Math Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS) went public in 1979. Last year, nearly 150,000 students from 6,000 teams worldwide participated in the Olympiads. All 50 states and about 30 other countries were represented. To know more about MOEMS, click on this link: https://www.moems.org/.
• SINGA
SINGA was first organized as a global event called the Singapore Math Team Global Challenge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2018) and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2019) to impart to other Asian countries the value of Mathematics as a subject and a teaching tool.
Starting this year, SINGA will be organized as a local-international competition to encourage the participation of more students from more countries. To learn more about SINGA, click on this link: https://singamath.com/.
• Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO)
The Singapore & Asian Schools Math Olympiad (SASMO), one of largest math competitions in Asia is a math contest that aims to hone not only the math skills of the brightest students, but is aimed at instilling confidence in all students. It started out in 2006 and has since expanded from 155 local participants to more than 30,000 participants from 21 different countries. In 2019, over 180 schools from Singapore took part in SASMO. For details on SASMO, click on this link: https://sasmo.sg/.
• Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC)
The Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC) is a one-of-a-kind mathematics competition that not only tests your child’s ability to solve exhaustive pen-and-paper mathematical problems but also his ability to work as a team through playing interactive group games and solving math puzzles. This is because SIMOC gives recognition and awards for both individual and team categories.
Aside from training students in mathematical thinking, SIMOC gives students an opportunity to compete with top mathematical talents from around the world and learn from each other as a team. To learn more about SIMOC, click on this link: https://simoc.sg/.
• The International Junior Math Olympiad (IJMO)
Organized by the Singapore International Math Contests Centre (SIMCC) together with the National Math Societies in Asian Countries, the International Junior Math Olympiad (IJMO) is an international mathematics competition held annually in different countries across Asia. IJMO aims to recognize and encourage potential young math talents in all SIMCC participating country, as well as to empower students with a deeper interest and love in math to think beyond the math school curricula.
To learn more about IJMO, click on this link: https://ijmo.asia/.
What training options does my child have for international Math Olympiads?
Here are a few training options that you as a parent should look into if your child is interested in participating in an international Math Olympiad competition.
1. The Math Classroom
• Wesbite:https://www.themathclassroom.com.sg/
The Math Classroom considers itself Singapore’s top Competition and PSLE Math training centre. Boasting of three National Championships and over 100 hundred platinum medal, gold medal, and high distinction in the SMOPS, NMOS, SASMO, RIPMWC and Mathlympics, The Math Classroom aims to prepare students for different local and international Math Olympiads using their own developed curriculum, trained teachers, and proven teaching strategies and methods.
2. Terry Chew Academy
• Website: https://terrychew.com.sg/math-olympiad-singapore
Terry Chew Academy’s Maths Olympiad Courses provide primary school and secondary school students with the opportunity to stretch their mathematics potential and compete successfully in prestigious local and international Maths Olympiad Competitions for enrichment purposes or Direct School Admission (DSA).
Terry Chew Academy’s training method involves students attending weekly coaching sessions and learning essential concepts, strategies, and math competition techniques. The centre’s trainers and coaches employs critical thinking training techniques developed by Mr. Terry Chew himself to help students develop necessary critical thinking skills in solving complex contest problems.
3. Singapore Mathematical Society Talent Outreach Program
• Website: http://www.add-venture.com.sg/sms_talent/
The Singapore Mathematical Society Talent Outreach Program (SMS-TOP) is a joint programme organised by the Singapore Mathematical Society and Add-venture Learning aimed at attracting the interest of mathematically talented pupils in Primary 5 who have advanced skills in mathematics. The main objective of SMS-TOP is to rouse and cultivate the creative thinking and math problem-solving abilities of students, and to spark in them a genuine interest in math.
4. 42 Points Advanced Math Training Program
• Website:https://42points.com/
42 Points Advanced Math Training Program offers Math Olympiad Training Course—a two-semester instructor-led live online course designed to cover the fundamental topics and techniques used in Olympiad Mathematics. The course includes the discussion and practice of basic algebra, number theory, geometry and combinatorics.
5. Global Education
• Website:https://globaledu.com.sg/
Global Education advocates for independent learning by encouraging students to come up with their own unique solutions and problem-solving strategies to real-life math problems in order to allow them to stretch their mathematical potential. Doing this allows Global Education to prepare and groom students into being self-active and independent learners, capable of forging their own paths in various pursuits to achieve excellence in their chosen endeavour.
Global Education boasts of students who have gone on to gain multiple distinctions at national level examinations and Math Olympiads.
6. Olympiad Math
• Website: http://www.olympianmath.com/site
Olympiad Math aims to help students prepare for Olympiad competitions in a much more interesting and interactive manner by allowing students to train and practice more efficiently through self-assessment via instant reports and analysis.
Olympiad Math believes that such an approach will be greatly beneficial for the preparation of students in Olympiad exams because training and practice covers the complete syllabus of exams and promotes a deeper understanding of course concepts and methods. It also has a question bank that is designed after the Olympiad test format and is an ideal study material that goes beyond the school curriculum, masterfully prepared to hone one’s grasp of the learned concepts and methods.
7. iMath
• Website:https://www.imath.sg/
Led and ran by Singapore educators who are internationally-trained, iMath is the only platform that offers international Math Olympiad training through an online community of math experts and enthusiasts. With its supportive community of educators—all locally and internationally-trained in various areas of Mathematics and pedagogy, iMath’s curated tutors are life-long learners of math and have guaranteed experience and expertise in teaching and training students in math both scholastically and competitively. That is why parents can rest assured that their child is getting the most competitive international Math Olympiad training. And as iMath takes care of quality Olympiad training for your child with the help of its top-curated tutors, it also takes care of making sure that your child receives training in a manner that saves time, money, and energy. iMath’s live online international Olympiad training is one-of-a-kind and ahead of its time for providing a cost-effective, convenient, and flexible option for you and your child: no more need to spend money on gas or waste time in traffic in order to get to the training centre, or to decide over confusing schedules that just wouldn’t fit in your child’s already-busy daily itinerary. With iMath, your child can receive quality Math Olympiad training from Olympiad-trained Singapore tutors, right at the comfort of your own home, at your child’s preferred schedules. Download the iMath app today!
