THE 2025 YOUNG MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS (YMSA)
COMPETITION
THE CINDY NEUSCHWANDER AWARD
(THE 12-16 YEARS OLD CATEGORY)
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With 473 entries from 57 schools (including two homeschooling sites) across 15 countries to judge, the Cindy Neuschwander Award (the 12-16 years old category) represents the highest level of competition we’ve seen so far for this category.
The competition is also very inclusive with 276 female students, 196 male students and one non-binary student participated.
Many congratulations to the authors of the winning, shortlisted and longlisted entries! The winner receives £100 and their school another £100. The Award is generously funded by Charlesbridge.
You can read these talented authors' mathematical stories, their inspiration for the stories, and the judges' comments below.
Feel free to share their works on social media using the #YMSAMaths hashtag.
We would like to thank all the authors for taking part in this year's YMSA competition and to their schools (and parents) for encouraging them to participate in the competition. Below is the list of this year's participating schools for this age category.
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls (UK)
Archer Academy Secondary School (UK)
Army Public School Akhnoor (India)
Army Public School Ambala Cantt (India)
Basava International School (India)
Bina Kasih Christian Junior High School (Indonesia)
Birla Open Minds International School (India)
Botany Downs Secondary College (New Zealand)
Bucklands Beach Intermediate (New Zealand)
Camarines Sur National High School (The Philippines)
City of London School for Girls (UK)
Cowplain School (UK)
Cygnus World School (India)
Dene Academy (UK)
Dulwich College Beijing (China)
Galaxy Montessori Academy (India)
Greenhills School (USA)
Guildford High School (UK)
Hampton Court House (UK)
High School of Glasgow (UK)
I Can School (Vietnam)
Ilford County High School (UK)
Junior High School 3 Surakarta (Indonesia)
Junior High School 5 Tasikmalaya (Indonesia)
King James I Academy (UK)
Langley Grammar School (UK)
Leiria International School (Portugal)
Lloyd Gymnasium (Germany)
Macleans College (New Zealand)
Maiden Erlegh School in Reading (UK)
Montessori Senior Secondary School (India)
Munich International School (Germany)
Nanyang Zhi Hui School (Indonesia)
Newlands School (UAE)
NYC15K136 School (USA)
Oberoi International School (India)
Pushpalata British International School (India)
Ruyton Girls School (Australia)
Sharafuddin School (Maldives)
Silver Oaks International School (India)
SMA Negeri 3 Salatiga (Indonesia)
SMPN 1 Seyegan (Indonesia)
SMP Negeri 1 Sleman (Indonesia)
SMP Negeri 6 Mataram (Indonesia)
Sri Chaitanya Techno School (India)
St Martin’s College (Malta)
St Peter’s York School (UK)
Stretford High School (UK)
Taipei European School (Taiwan)
Tiffin School (UK)
Trevelyan Middle School (UK)
Tunas Harapan Pati Vocational High School (Indonesia)
Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science (Philippines)
Vidyashilp Academy (India)
Vocational High School Muh 4 Surakarta (Indonesia)
Homeschooling (India)
Homeschooling (USA)
To read the winning, shortlisted and longlisted entries of
our 2025 Kersti Worsley Award (the 4-7 years old category), click here.
To read the winning, shortlisted and longlisted entries of
our 2025 Stuart J. Murphy Award (the 8-11 years old category), click here.
If you want to learn about our upcoming 2026 competition, click here.
To read the winning, shortlisted and longlisted entries from our past competitions, click on a year of interest:
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019.
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What the judges say:
"The author of this winning entry earns the rare distinction of securing first place in this category two years in a row! The Long Journey is a poignant story of two sisters, one of whom is seriously ill. The older sister Alina must find a way to get her younger sister Lily out of a war torn city to a Red Cross station 200 miles away. Using time, speed, and distance to figure out how long the journey will be, Alina forges toward their destination with determination and love for her sibling. Despite a number of challenges, they arrive and Lily is saved. The illustrations for this story matched the tone of the tale with beautifully integrated math graphs and diagrams superimposed over the drawings. What a heartfelt and genuine story of family love! And how wonderful that math is so integral to its happy ending! Huge congratulations again on retaining your title in this category two years running, Gisele!" |
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What the author says:
"I’d thought ‘Carnival Adventure’ last year would be my last YMSA entry, yet here I am for my fifth and final YMSA entry! Thus, I wanted to end things on a touch of realism; my story is a message of both how fortunate we are, free from war, and that maths is useful. Clearly, maths needs to be appreciated; it is a life skill, not random hieroglyphs used to pass exams. The process of creating a mathematical story picture book was enjoyable and useful to help consolidate my understanding of the 'S=DT' concept. Acknowledgements to Ms. Chui and Ms. Field for their encouragement. I propose that Maths teachers should encourage their students to create their own mathematical story picture books. To students around the world, go participate in the YMSA competition! Afterall, teaching others is an effective way to learn." |
SHORTLISTED
'Right Angle, Right Answer!' by Aalya Gupta (12 years old)
at Taipei European School (Taiwan)
'Right Angle, Right Answer!' by Aalya Gupta (12 years old)
at Taipei European School (Taiwan)
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What the judges say: "Her math exam begins in ten minutes and Maya is at the far end of the school. She needs a shortcut to get there on time. Using the Pythagarean Theorem, Maya is able to quickly determine a short cut across a grassy path to arrive for her test. To relax afterwards, she heads towards the library in search of a special book but the story she seeks is on a very high shelf. Again using the Pythagorean Theorem, she finds a ladder of appropriate height and snags her book. Helping a friend fit a full-size harp into a rehearsal room, rounds out her day. Math comes to the rescue in this fun story with lovely illustrations that help the reader to clearly visualize the ideas presented. What a great read, Aalya!" |
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What the author says: “A few months ago, I fractured my ankle and was confined to a wheelchair, which made navigating our school’s hilly terrain across three separate buildings challenging, inspiring me to write a story where the protagonist uses mathematics to solve problems, just as I wish I had. Creating this maths story picture book was fun and eye-opening. It helped me turn my frustration into creativity while seeing how math can solve real problems like the mobility challenges I faced. I think math teachers around the world should encourage students to make math stories as a fun way to express ourselves creatively while developing our understanding of math concepts that are usually hard to understand without practical scenarios." |
SHORTLISTED
'To the Minute' by Hannah Hutchings (14 years old)
at Botany Downs Secondary College (New Zealand)
'To the Minute' by Hannah Hutchings (14 years old)
at Botany Downs Secondary College (New Zealand)
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What the judges say:
"This intriguing story uses time, speed, and distance to help Aliyah meet a friend for lunch. To get there at the agreed time, Aliyah wonders if she should walk, bike, travel by bus, or take the train. Complicating some of her options, she must also accurately read bus and train schedules. After determining that the bus is her best option, she uses a stem and leaf graph to find the optimal departure time. The math is clearly explained with helpful graphics that make this story quite believable. Does she arrive on time and meet her friend? It’s a cliffhanger until the end! What a fun story, Hannah! I loved reading it." |
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What the author says: "My YMSA story was ultimately inspired by my experiences with public transport. Nowadays, I catch the bus frequently to get around, but I remember when I first caught a bus, I misread the timetable as I didn't realise it was in 24-hour time! As the need for public transport is increasing due to growing cities and the hunt for sustainable travel options, I thought it would be perfect to center my story around a girl navigating her city by bus! It was delightful bringing my story to life and I loved being able to combine diagrams, drawings, and words to support my explanations and further my own understandings. I think that all Maths teachers around the globe should encourage their students to create their own mathematical story picture books! Not just for their students to teach others interesting mathematical concepts, but also to reinforce and apply their own maths learning!" |
SHORTLISTED
'The Millionaire of the Magic Forest' by Zeling Li (12 years old)
at St. Martin's College (Malta)
'The Millionaire of the Magic Forest' by Zeling Li (12 years old)
at St. Martin's College (Malta)
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What the judges say: "How do three animals in a magic forest invest their lottery winnings? Winnie the bear, George the fox, and Lina the cat all take different approaches to their share of the three million gold coins. Sharing them equally, Winnie puts his stash in the bank where he can only withdraw ten percent a year. Over time, he sees his prize dwindle. George invests his coins in bonds that yield ten percent every year. But Lina uses the concept of compound interest to make her share grow the most. With clear bar and line graphs, this story illustrates three ways to invest. Young readers everywhere will be sure to learn solid investment strategies that can help them maximize their lifetime earnings. What a fun way to teach this concept, Zeling! And you don’t even need a million gold coins to get your own money growing." |
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What the author says: "Creating The Millionaire of the Magic Forest helped me truly understand how compound interest works because it turned a complicated idea into something I could picture and explain clearly. Writing a mathematical story pushed me to break the concept down and show it step by step through the characters’ decisions and the growth of their money over time. I had to think carefully about how each character used or missed the opportunity of compound interest, and this made me understand not just what it is, but why it works so powerfully. This process helped me explain the mathematical concept in a more engaging way, both for myself and for others reading it. Making this mathematical story picture book was more effective for me than reading a maths textbook or watching a maths tutorial video, because I had to teach the idea through the story - and that made it stick. To all the coolest, most beautiful, and funniest Math teachers out there: please encourage your students to try creating their own maths story picture books too! Let’s make math a little more magical and creative together!" |
SHORTLISTED
'Mary's Mathematical Challenge!' by Sophia Anastasis (13 years old)
at Archer Academy Secondary School (UK)
'Mary's Mathematical Challenge!' by Sophia Anastasis (13 years old)
at Archer Academy Secondary School (UK)
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What the judges say: "Anyone living in an earthquake prone area of the world will find this story helpful for protection in the case of an unpredictable natural disaster. Sprinkled with endearing stick figure illustrations, the author demonstrates how to build tables that could protect three students each. With variations in student size, she niftily designs the furniture and thoughtfully includes the teacher as well. This math measurement story provides a practical how-to guide to ensuring better student safety in light of a big shake. Living in California, this story hits close to home for me! Well done, Sophia!" |
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What the author says: "When I heard about America’s school shootings, I realised how terrifying it must have been for the children. When I was trying to come up with an idea for the YMSA competition, I thought about using this situation, but I decided I should make it less frightening and I changed my idea to keeping safe in the event of an earthquake, which is also extremely scary. It was really easy to write the story but more difficult to relate it to maths in everyday life, which is what I wanted to do. I chose to make it about averages - working through it really reinforced the topic for me because it made me think about the different types of averages. It made me recall the method for calculating the mean and I also looked for the definition of the word average. I'll never forget how to do it now! I think that Maths teachers around the world should encourage and allow children to create maths story picture books like mine so that they realise that maths is very important to learn and how useful it is in everyday situations. It's been great to have had the opportunity to compete with children around the world, I'm so proud to have been shortlisted in the 13-16 age group, being only 13." |
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What the judges say: "This delightful graphic novel style story clearly demonstrates the ideas of mean, median, mode, and range using several classes and their math performances in Grade 7. Humor moves the story forward, making the reader eager to explore the grades received by the students. For those who did poorly, excuses like “I was chatting all the time with my friend,” and “I didn’t ask my teacher when I didn’t understand,” provide moments of honest clarity. Terms like mean are punned; “Does it bully other numbers and that’s why its called mean?” Puns like this help the reader to remember the math with humor. I smiled all the way through this story. Great works, Dahyun!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for this mathematical story came from when I was learning about the concept of mean. It was quite easy for me, so I wanted to write a story I could explain teh concept confidently and successfully. I decided to base it on school exam grades because it's something all students can relate to. At the beginning, my process of creating this mathematical story picture book was quite tough. Choosing a math topic and clearly showing the math method while still making the story interesting was challenging. However, it became easier with each page I completed, and I eventually started to enjoy it. Since this project was an awesome experience to show creativity, I encourage all math teachers around the world to give more students this chance. YMSA was the best competition I’ve ever participated in and I would like to thank my math teacher for giving me this wonderful opportunity!" |
SHORTLISTED
'Pyjamas, Puzzles, And a Pug-Napping Phantom' by Amy Xie (14 years old)
at Botany Downs Secondary College (New Zealand)
'Pyjamas, Puzzles, And a Pug-Napping Phantom' by Amy Xie (14 years old)
at Botany Downs Secondary College (New Zealand)
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What the judges say: "The search for Nessa’s lost dog Fido takes her on an intriguing math story through a haunted mansion. Using the concepts of a linear function, a quadratic sequence, and the Fibonacci sequence, the author injects humor, and intrigue (Ghosts! Knights! Mystery dog paintings!) into finding Fido. What a grand way to inject mathematics into a rollicking story! Well done, Amy!" |
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What the author says: "Pyjamas, Puzzles and a Pug-napping Phantom was inspired by the fun, eye-catching art style of graphic novels and my personal struggle with understanding pattern-related questions. I enjoyed the task of creating a narrative that was both entertaining and educational. I was able to mix my different areas of interest to produce a learning product I am proud of. While creating this mathematical story picture book, I was also able to advance my skills around sequencing. The process required me to familiarise myself with the topic in order to teach others through my story picture book. In my opinion, all maths teachers should support their students’ learning by providing them with the opportunity to write their own mathematical story picture books. It is a stimulating project that takes skill, perseverance and enthusiasm, amd I recommend all students to give it a shot!" |
SHORTLISTED
'Coordinated Survival' by Claire Winter (13 years old)
at Taipei European School (Taiwan)
'Coordinated Survival' by Claire Winter (13 years old)
at Taipei European School (Taiwan)
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What the judges say: "Using slope and coordinate pairs, this exciting story follows two helicopter pilots as they attempt to land below fog and around a mountain ridge. With only one pair of coordinates, the two pilots must figure out more pairs and chart their way, up high over the mountains. A debrief after a successful landing shows the reader exactly where the two pilots flew to safety. The math illustrations were clear and the computer generated pictures lend drama and excitement to the story. What a gripping story, Claire!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for this story is how I love watching all sorts of films with my family, specifically thrillers. The feeling of being completely hooked is evoked in me when I watch suspenseful movies as well as when solving maths problems, therefore inspiring me to take part in this maths story contest. This connection led me to create a mathematical story filled with tension and suspense, where the survival of two friends depends on their mathematical problem-solving skills. I thoroughly enjoyed making this mathematical story picture book as it required me to apply mathematical ideas in a fun and creative way. I encourage maths teachers worldwide to let their students create their own mathematical story picture books! It is a really great way to make maths engaging as well as imaginative, not to mention it also helps strengthen the students' knowledge of specific mathematical concepts." |
LONGLISTED ENTRIES
The judges would also like to offer congratulations to authors of the following entries which were longlisted for the 2025 Cindy Neuschwander Award!
The judges would also like to offer congratulations to authors of the following entries which were longlisted for the 2025 Cindy Neuschwander Award!
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'The Cube Made Out of Squares' by Kira Perreiter (12 years old) at Munich International School (Germany)
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'The Tesseli Art Story' by Aayush Mohanty (13 years old) at Birla Open Minds International School (India)
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'When Nature Speaks in Number' by Natasya Astari (15 years old) at SMP Negeri 6 Mataram (Indonesia)
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