A parent looking for maths competitions in the French system finds a dozen names in no particular order. They are not equivalent, they do not target the same age, and above all they do not train the same thing. Some are timed multiple-choice tests, others require written proofs, one is played in teams on research problems. Taking them in the wrong order can put off a child who might have loved them.
I sort them here from primary school to the final year of lycée (French secondary school). For any one student, I pick two or three a year, no more.
Kangourou or olympiads: the real difference
The Kangourou des mathématiques, the French arm of the international Kangaroo competition, is a multiple-choice test: twenty-four questions (sixteen for the youngest) in fifty minutes, five possible answers each, with points deducted for wrong answers. It rewards quickness, intuition and the ability to rule out a wrong option. The olympiads and the Coupe Animath ask for the opposite: few problems, a lot of time, and a fully written solution.
Both are useful, as long as you know what you are training. A child who shines at the Kangourou is not necessarily ready for the olympiads, because they have never had to justify what they find. Written reasoning is what separates the two worlds, and it is what counts later, in lycée, in prépa (the French two-year intensive programmes for the top schools) and in admissions tests.
Primary school and the first years of collège: the Kangourou
For a child in primary school or the first two years of collège (French middle school, ages 11 to 15), the Kangourou is the right way in. There is a paper for each age band (ages 8 to 11, 11 to 13, 13 to 15, then lycée), and a Koala version for the two youngest primary years. It takes place on a Thursday in March, in school, and entry goes only through a teacher: if the school does not take part, ask the teacher.
I use it as a test of appetite. A child who comes out of the Kangourou wanting to know why question 20 was D is ready for the next step. Past papers, published with their solutions, work very well at home, one question an evening.
Maths competitions at ages 13 to 15
This is when the choice widens, and when it starts to matter:
- The Olympiades de quatrième (for students aged 13 to 14). Four problems in two hours, run by about twenty French education regions. It is the first competition where the student has to write up solutions, and the best preparation for the olympiad two years later.
- The Coupe Animath. Open to middle- and high-school students, in two rounds: an online first round of puzzles with no justification required, then a timed written second round, three hours for middle-school students. The autumn edition is the selection for the French olympiad training programme.
- The Alkindi competition. A cryptography contest for students aged roughly 13 to 16, free, online, alone or in pairs, with several rounds from December to April and a two-hour final in May. It appeals to students drawn to coding and logic, and gets them doing number theory without noticing.
- The Concours général du collège. Created in 2026 for students in their last year of middle school, with a maths and science paper based on problem solving, lasting two and a half hours. Winners are recognised in each education region.
For a 13-year-old who enjoys maths, I recommend the Olympiades de quatrième and the Coupe Animath. Alkindi comes on top if they like code. There is no point doing everything: two prepared competitions beat five endured ones.
Maths competitions in lycée
In lycée, the road narrows towards long written papers and proof:
| Competition | Year | Format | What it trains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympiades de première | Penultimate year (age 16 to 17) | Four hours, four open-ended problems, entry through the school | Searching on an unfamiliar problem and writing it up |
| Coupe Animath and the French olympiad training programme (POFM) | Ages 15 to 18 | Four-hour second round for lycée students; about a hundred students a year trained towards the international olympiads | Olympiad level, with camps and distance training |
| TFJM² | Lycée, teams of four to six | Research problems published in December-January, defended orally against another team in spring | Working for months on an open question, presenting and critiquing |
| Concours général | Final year, maths specialism | Five hours, entry on the teacher's proposal | Stamina and rigorous writing |
The TFJM², the French Tournament of Young Mathematicians, deserves a word of its own. Teams work for months on problems with no known complete solution, then defend their results in debates where each member takes turns as presenter, opponent and reviewer. For a lycée student aiming at a British or American university, it is a rare experience to describe in an application. The Concours général has its own entry rules, which I explain in The Concours général in maths.
At a French lycée abroad: UKMT and AMC
Expat families can often access British and American competitions, through nearby international schools or through the lycée itself. The UK's UKMT runs three multiple-choice challenges: Junior up to Year 8 (age 12 to 13), Intermediate up to Year 11 (age 15 to 16), Senior up to Year 13 (the final year), each opening onto longer follow-up rounds for the best. In the US, the AMC 8, 10 and 12 follow the same logic, and outside North America entry goes through an approved partner in each country.
These competitions sit well alongside the French olympiads, with one advantage for an application to the UK or the US: admissions readers know them without explanation.
Example: the 2026-2027 school year. The Alkindi competition opens on 7 December 2026, with a final on 12 May 2027. The Kangourou takes place on Thursday 18 March 2027. Dates for the olympiads and the Coupe Animath are published by the education regions and by Animath during the year.
My standard path, from age 11 to 18
If I had to draw a single route: the Kangourou in the first two years of middle school, for fun and to spot the appetite; the Olympiades de quatrième and the Coupe Animath in middle school, to learn to write; the Olympiades de première, then the Concours général in the final year, with the TFJM² as a team if the student enjoys working with others. At each step, prepare with past papers of the next competition, not only the current one.
I built Fields to follow that route: nearly 200 problems from the official olympiad and Coupe Animath past papers, sorted by difficulty, with progressive hints. The tool is free, along with our other resources. And when a student wants to go further, I take them on in private lessons: choosing the right competition at the right age, reading their write-ups, and fitting these competition years into a path that leads, with Carmine, all the way to the admissions file. I explain what they weigh there in Maths olympiads on a university application.