What does APMOPS stand for?
The APMOPS, or the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad for Primary Schools (APMOPS), is an annual math olympiad organised by Hwa Chong Institution. The first APMOPS was held in 1990 (previously known as SMOPS) and has since expanded to participating centres in 13 overseas countries in the region.
The APMOPS is held in two rounds. The first round will be invigilated in person at the local schools and overseas centres. Subsequently, top scorers from the first round will be invited to the APMOPS Invitation Round held at Hwa Chong Institution (High School Section) Singapore.
Competition Details
Students who are in Primary 6 (or equivalent) are eligible to participate in the APMOPS. However, for Singapore schools, each school can send up to 10 Primary 5 students.
APMOPS First Round
| Format | Online and held in Primary Schools |
| Type | Short Answer Questions |
| Duration | 120 mins (2 hours) |
Marks are awarded in the following manner:
- Questions 1 to 10: 4 marks each
- Questions 11 to 20: 5 marks each
- Questions 21 to 30: 6 marks each
- Total: 150 marks
There is no deduction of marks for errors or omissions.
Important Contest Details
Registration Fee: $40 (inclusive GST)
Registration Period: 1-29 February 2024
Date of Competition: 18 April 2024
Date of Results: 1 May 2024. Results will be posted online (https://apmops.hci.edu.sg/results)
Awards
There are two types of awards – individual and team awards.
For individual awards at the APMOPS First Round,
- Platinum – top 1.5% of participants or the top 50 participants, whichever is lower with exceptionally outstanding performance that meets the minimum requirements set by the judges.
- Gold – next 2.5% or the next 70 participants, whichever lower
- Silver – next 6%
- Bronze – subsequent 10%
- Certificate of Participation – remaining 80%
APMOPS Invitational Round
Eligibility: Top 50 of APMOPS First Round will be invited to the APMOPS Invitational Round
Format: Paper-based and held at HCI
Type: Short Answer and Open-Ended Questions
Duration: 120 mins (2 hours)
Date of Competition: 25 May 2024
Date of Results: Same day as competition
Marks are awarded in the following manner:
- Questions 1 to 4: 4 marks each
- Questions 5 to 8: 5 marks each
- Questions 9 to 12: 6 marks each
- Questions 13 to 14: 20 marks each
Q1-12 are short answer questions with no workings required. Q13-Q14 require workings and missing steps will result in loss of marks.
Awards
The top 30 students at the APMOPS Invitational Round will be given individual prizes.
Team prizes are also awarded for the APMOPS Invitational Round. Schools are ranked according to the total score of their top three students in the APMOPS.
APMOPS First Round and APMOPS Invitational test the following topics:
- Arithmetic and Algebra
- Number Theory
- Geometry
- Combinatorics and Counting Principles
- Number Pattern and Puzzle
- Word Problems
- Logic Problems
What is worth noting is that students cannot use calculators, mathematical tables, and mathematical sets in APMOPS.
3 Tips To Help You Ace the APMOPS
1. Master what you have learnt in Math Olympiad
From our analysis of the past-year papers, students need to have a firm grasp of the 7 Math Modules. Only by mastering the formulas and application, will you stand a better chance of acing the Math Olympiad.
2. Past Year Papers are your best companion
One of the best ways to get started on your preparation for the Math Olympiad is to work on past year’s papers. Past year’s papers give you an insight into the types of questions and topics tested at the actual Math Olympiad. If you can analyse and spot patterns from past year papers, it can inform your child’s math olympiad exam strategy, personalised to their strengths.
Read till the end of this post to retrieve your APMOPS Past Year Papers.
3. Don’t look at the solutions right away
Your child might be tempted to look at the solutions when met with a challenging question. Instead of looking at the solutions right away, perhaps take a look at the answer or the first step and encourage him/her to try the question again. This allows students to have ample time to connect and retrieve knowledge from similar questions, skills, and strategies used in the past.
APMOPS Past Year Papers
To help you get started on your preparation for the APMOPS First Round, we have put together a set of APMOPS Round 1 Past-Year Papers and their answers.
We highly encourage your child to try these APMOPS past year papers to get an understanding of the difficulty level that tested at the APMOPS First Round. On top of understanding the knowledge points and concepts tested in the APMOPS, it is more important to apply them to new problems.
Looking for extra practice? The APMOPS and RMO Essential Guide Book A and Book B might just be for you. Drop us a line on WhatsApp to find out how you can redeem our Essential Guide!
With most of the prestigious competitions such as RMO, APMOPS, and NMOS lined up in the first half of the year, Think Academy has created a preparation calendar to ensure that your child has got their bases covered if they are competing in those 3 competitions.
Simulating an online test environment, our mock test sessions will put students to the test and hone their test-taking skills. On top of that, the mock test will be accompanied by a tutorial session that you can replay (for up to 6 months) and a report that will analyse your child’s strengths and weaknesses on the test.
Be placed on the waitlist for our mock tests!
Primary 5 Elite Programme
Set your sights on something higher? If your child is in Primary 5 in 2024 and eyeing the IMSO, we’ve got the perfect programme for you.
The Primary 5 Elite Programme is our latest programme to develop students who are keen on getting into the IMSO training team. This rigorous programme is led by Teacher Eason, an experienced Math Olympiad Question Designer (Hope Cup and Spring Cup).
Sign up for the P5 Elite Programme Entrance test here.
