TIGHES Hill Public School opportunity class students hope their hard work and preparation will add up to success in the Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition.
Year six students Elizabeth McLean and Linh Le said they relished participating in the competition, which gradually increases in difficulty.
"There was a variety of questions, from arithmetic to geometry to number patterns and figuring out codes," Elizabeth said.
"I think I did okay. I performed well enough last year, I think I got a distinction. It's okay if I get less than that, but I'm pretty sure I did okay."
Linh said practice papers helped her feel prepared ahead of the contest, which she found "enjoyable", particularly the "word problem" questions.
"There were a lot of different maths problems I had not encountered before, it was interesting finding a way to solve them. It's interesting to devise different methods and strategies," she said.
"I really want to see how I improved from last year, when there was one question I was stuck on.
"This year I went back to it and found it much easier.
"I'm really trying to get a high distinction or a really good score, because I was pretty proud of how I did."
Assistant principal and opportunity class teacher Kerrie Armstrong said it was a chance for students to "showcase their skills and challenge themselves".
The majority of schools - including Tighes Hill - sat it online.
She said students were used to devices and NAPLAN and ICAS tests were online.
Elizabeth said she liked having a timer on the screen, but Linh said paper helped her "feel more confident because you can draw on graphs".
