How to prepare for the Australian Mathematics Competition
A practical AMC plan: one 75-minute diagnostic, repair weak problem families, then a full timed sit before competition week.
How to prepare for AMC (the Australian Mathematics Competition) is a stamina-and-families plan, not a new textbook. Secondary papers are typically about 30 questions in 75 minutes with no calculator.
A six-week outline
- Weeks 1–2: One mixed timed set in your school division. Tag misses by family and by cause (setup, arithmetic, pacing).
- Weeks 3–4: Repair one family at a time closed-book, then re-attempt a fresh item.
- Weeks 5–6: One full 75-minute sit, review the same day, then taper.
Division first
Junior (Years 7–8), Intermediate (Years 9–10) and Senior (Years 11–12) set different difficulty. Confirm the division your school registers before you “stretch” into a harder paper in the last week.
Peer contests
UKMT Junior or Intermediate papers can add unseen items at a similar challenge level. Keep the AMC clock as the main rehearsal if that is the school sitting.