Tamim's ThinkLab

The selective high school offers came out yesterday.

Two of my students received offers to Hurlstone Agricultural High School, and one to Macquarie Fields High School. One is on the waiting list at Leppington, and another is on the waiting list of Elizabeth Macarthur High School. I am proud of all of them.

I want to be honest about what happened here, because I think it matters.

I do not teach to the selective test, and I do not simply move students into harder year levels. My students spend the year on problem solving. They work on questions where the method is not handed to them, where the first step is to understand what is actually being asked and to find a way in. They learn to sit with a problem they cannot see the end of. They learn that being stuck is normal and not a sign that something is wrong with them.

The test result is a by-product of that work. It is a good by-product, and I am glad for the families. But it is not the point.

The point is that a child who has spent a year being comfortable with hard problems carries that into high school, and into whatever comes after. Selective entry opens a door. The thinking is what they walk through it with.

Congratulations to all four of them, and to their families.

This is a good news for young problem solvers.

Something exciting is coming for young mathematicians! AJMO registrations are open NOW!

AJMO is for students up to Year 8 who need an extra mathematical challenge but aren't yet ready for the Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad (AIMO). The AJMO has 10 integer-answer questions, a 90 minute time limit and is online only. To find out more information and see sample problems, head to our website https://amt.edu.au/ajmo

The proof copy of ThinkLab Critical Reasoning just arrived.

My own son sat the selective test this year. Watching him prepare, I noticed something: the Thinking Skills section tests reasoning that schools don't actually teach. Kids get drilled on past questions, but not on why the traps work or how to spot them.

This book covers Critical Reasoning, one of the two main areas in the Thinking Skills test, roughly a third of the paper. Rather than just drilling questions, it builds the theory first, then practice. The goal is reasoning skills that stay with them well after the test is done.

I class-tested it in Term 2 with my current year 5 students who are enrolled in my Thinking Skills course.

Full release in a couple of weeks. More soon.

Yesterday marked the end of this year’s Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC).

ThinkLab students sat the competition either through ThinkLab or through their own schools. Congratulations to everyone who gave it a go.

The AMC has been running since 1978 and is Australia’s largest and longest-running maths competition organized by Australian Maths Trust. Its questions are designed to test problem solving, not just whether students can remember a method.

That is why I spend time on these kinds of problems in class. It is easy for competition preparation to become: learn a trick, use the trick, move on. But real mathematical thinking is often messier than that.

A student might look at a problem and have no idea where to start. They try something, get stuck, rethink it, and try again. That process is valuable. It builds patience, independence, and the confidence to deal with unfamiliar problems.

Results and certificates matter, of course. But they are not the only outcome. The work students put in during the weeks of preparation matters too.

In some ThinkLab batches, we will continue working through AMC-style problems over the coming weeks. The competition may be finished, but the thinking it develops is still worth building.

Congratulations to Team Australia!

Drum roll please 🥁

Congratulations to the Australian team who competed during the past week at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad in China!

🥇 Gold for Amber Li
🥈 Silver for Jayden Pan
🥈 Silver for Matthew Wang
🥉 Bronze for Liam Celinski
🥉 Bronze for Kevin Tang
🙌 Honourable Mention for Tao Wong

We are so proud of your results and efforts! 🇦🇺

Thank you to our partners and supporters for their ongoing support!

🙏Jane Street, Major Partner of the AMT’s Olympiad Program
🙏 Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Government Support
🙏 Optiver, Olympiad Program Partner

For more information, visit our website: https://tinyurl.com/5yztntn4

Year 6 Maths Enrichment — Online (Term 3)

I’m opening a small online maths enrichment group for motivated Year 6 students.

The program is designed to strengthen important mathematical foundations while also stretching students with challenging, unfamiliar problems. Students will build confidence in number, patterns, geometry, logical reasoning, and explaining their thinking clearly.

This is not catch-up tutoring or worksheet drilling. It is for students who enjoy maths, are curious, and are ready to think more deeply.

Details

Starts: Monday 27 July

Time: 7:45 PM–9:00 PM

Duration: 9 weekly live online classes

Group size: Maximum 6 students

Fee: $504 for Term 3

To enquire or discuss whether the program is suitable for your child, please send me a message.

Good luck to Team Australia for the IMO 2026!

Exam time!
Wishing our IMO team the very best as they take on the next two days of exams. Good luck, Team Australia!

Bardia Public School's chess team won both the Championship and Intermediate categories at this year's Macarthur Zone Interschool Chess Tournament hosted by Macarthur Anglican School, the two top categories.

I've been volunteering as their coach for three years now, and it's been a good trajectory to watch. Year one, they became zone champions in Intermediate for the first time. Year two, they took out Championship (and went on to become regional champions across South-West Sydney) plus Intermediate again. This year, both again: two years running for Intermediate, back to back for Championship.

What we actually do is simple: the kids play at the school chess club regularly, year-round. I built a custom piece of software to track their games and assign each player a rating. I don't run structured lessons. Mostly I watch and give feedback when it's useful. The gains come from consistent play against real opposition, not from being taught moves.

It's a good reminder that a lot of skill development, in chess, in maths, in most things, comes from sustained, tracked practice with the right amount of challenge, more than from direct instruction. Congratulations to the team and to Bardia Public School.

Geometric transformation is an important topic for math competitions including selective (both mathematical reasoning and thinking skills). And it's harder to teach on a whiteboard. Khan Academy does an excellent job with this unit — link in the comments. Highly recommended!

Term 3 enrolments are open at Tamim's ThinkLab.

Maths enrichment for students in Years 4 to 8 — for kids who are ready to go beyond the standard school curriculum and enjoy a real challenge.

The focus is on problem solving and clear thinking, not drilling for school tests. It's for students who want to understand maths more deeply, not just keep up.

The details:
• Years 4 to 8 — online and face-to-face
• Small batches grouped by level, capped at 6 students
• One 75-minute class each week
• Runs from the week of 20 July to 25 September
• Term 3 fee: $560

If you think your child would enjoy this, send me a message.