Schools Battle League

A step-by-step guide for teachers who want to bring Maths Battles to their school: running a first Battle between your own students, joining a league with other schools, or creating a league of your own.

Contents

What stage are you at? Running a Battle in your own school, joining a league with other schools, or creating a league?

Host a Battle in your School

Timeline: 2–4 weeks from today.

Who, when and where

  • Each team should have 6 students – either all from years 7–8, or all from years 9–11. The number 6 isn’t a strict requirement: 5 also works, but 4 is pushing it.
  • The Battle takes 2 hours in total – one hour of solving and one hour of presenting. One teacher ran hers on Mondays after school, 4:15–6:15 pm, as she knew she had those free in her timetable.
  • You’ll need either one large room or two rooms. For the first half, the teams need to be able to talk without the other team overhearing – whether one room is enough depends on the room. For the second half, you just need one room that fits all 12 students across two tables, along with a whiteboard.

Sign-off from SLT

This will likely need sign-off from your senior leadership team. The process differs between schools, but we suggest including a list of pros and cons:

  • Pros: problem-solving, communicating mathematical ideas, confidence, spirit of competition.
  • Cons: time taken, room booking.

Problems and refereeing

We can provide the problems and refereeing for your first Battle. We’d ask you to print the problems. Please see the full maths battle rules.

Join a League

Timeline: 1–2 half-terms from today.

You might have received an email from a maths teacher at a nearby school, or maybe you’ve heard of a league through the grapevine.

  • Sign-off from SLT – this may include your school’s usual checklist for off-site activities, such as a risk assessment.
  • Parental permission for each student taking part.
  • If you’ve not already taken part in a Battle, we’d recommend reading about how Maths Battles work first.

Create a League

Timeline: 2–3 half-terms from today.

  1. Ideally you’ve already seen a Battle, and some of your pupils have already taken part, so you know how the Battle itself works.
  2. Decide on the league structure. One teacher successfully ran a knockout tournament with 8 teams across three rounds.
  3. Book rooms for a set of dates within your own school, following your school’s own system. Avoid exam weeks if you can, and leave enough time between Battles so that other schools can get permission from their SLT and parents.
  4. Email maths teachers from other schools with the selection of dates and times. You can use the template below.
  5. Keep track of the results.

Invitation Email Template

Replace the parts in angle brackets with your own details.

We are thrilled to invite your school to take part in the 2026 <SCHOOL NAME> Maths Battles, an exciting tournament-style event designed to challenge, inspire and celebrate the mathematical talent of <YEARS 7–8 / YEARS 9–11> students!

The Maths Battles run in a knockout tournament format:

  • Two schools compete in each round.
  • The winner progresses to the next stage.
  • The competition continues until an overall champion is crowned!
  • Please find the maths battle rules and problems attached.

Some of the schools participating include: <NAME 1>, <NAME 2>, <ETC.>

Tournament schedule (e.g. Monday afternoons, 4:15–6:15 pm)

Please note that the Maths Battles will take place on one of the dates listed in the poll below, with each school being allocated one battle day against another participating school.

We will ask you to indicate your preferred dates from the options provided and we will do our very best to allocate you your first choice wherever possible. However, as pairings and schedules depend on overall availability across all schools, final allocations will be made to ensure the event runs smoothly and fairly for everyone involved.

Poll: Please select up to three preferred dates, in order of preference: <LINK TO POLL>

  • <DATE 1> – Semi-final 1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2
  • <DATE 2> – Semi-final 2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4
  • <DATE 3> – Final: Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2

Venue: <SCHOOL ADDRESS>

All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation and the winning team will be awarded the annual <SCHOOL> Trophy, with Certificates of Achievement for runners-up.

To help us organise the timetable efficiently, we would be grateful if you could indicate three preferred dates for your school’s participation, in order of preference, using the poll above. You will then be allocated a date.

We kindly ask that a teacher or adult from your school accompanies your students, retaining responsibility for them throughout the sessions.

We are very excited to host this tournament and provide your students with a fantastic opportunity to problem-solve, collaborate and enjoy some challenging mathematics in a fun, competitive setting.

We hope your school will join us for what promises to be an inspiring and energetic series of Maths Battles!

Kindest wishes,

From Other Leagues

The students had an amazing time and were buzzing about it this morning. Some of the questions were a little challenging for them, but as teachers we actually felt that was a really positive thing. It definitely lived up to the name “Maths Battle.” It was great to see them being stretched and thinking hard and they rose to the challenge well.

Simona Tudoran, Papplewick

THANK YOU so much for a very enjoyable event on Tuesday! Our students have been extremely excited on Wednesday morning to tell everyone about their experience.

Annelize Jorge

Get in Touch

If you’d like support running a Battle or a league at your school, please contact us at registration@wesolveproblems.org.uk.