This friendly, online, inter-school competition gives teams of Year 4 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.
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.
The hour-long heats will comprise of a set of 4 equally-weighted rounds. These rounds will include:
- Questions with multiple parts
- Problems in context
- Visual estimation
There will also be a challenge for teams to complete in school in advance of their heat.
2025 Year 4 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 (and across any number of heats), at a cost of £35 per team.
To enter your Year 4 class teams into this year’s HFL Education Year 4 maths challenge, please book onto one of the following heats via the HFL Education Hub.
Choose a heat
HEAT 1: Wednesday 30th April 2025, 1:30 – 2:30pm
HEAT 2: Wednesday 30th April 2025, 3:30 – 4:30pm
HEAT 3: Tuesday 6th May 2025, 1:30 – 2:30pm
HEAT 4: Tuesday 6th May 2025, 3:30 – 4:30pm
FINAL (by invite only): Wednesday 21st May 2025, 1.30 – 3:00pm
Download the HFL Education Year 4 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 4 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. There are also free practice materials which can be downloaded.
In the live heats and final, teams have two minutes to complete each question.
Joint 2024 Winners: Westbury Park School, Redland, Bristol & School of Scholars, Maharashtra, India
Feedback from our 2024 Year 4 finalists:
The most enjoyable thing about the Year 4 maths challenge was working as a team and having fun!
Throckley Primary School, Throckley, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Our top tip for teamwork is to distribute the work and check each other’s answers.
Hatfield Community Free School, Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
Our favourite question was estimating the distance between two of the participating schools because it was interesting to see where other teams come from.
Applecroft Primary School, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
Find out more about the Year 3, Year 5 and Year 6 maths challenge events.
HFL Education Year 3 maths challenge
HFL Education Year 5 maths challenge
HFL Education Year 6 maths challenge
To express an interest in joining the next Year 4 Maths Challenge competition, complete this short form and we will be in touch as soon as next year’s heats are open for team registration.
Sign up to our Primary Maths Newsletter for updates about the HFL Education Mathematics Challenge and from the wider world of primary maths.
For further information or for support with problem-solving and challenge in your school, contact the HFL Education Primary Maths Team at primarymaths@hfleducation.org.
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