THE 2025 YOUNG MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS (YMSA)
COMPETITION
THE STUART J. MURPHY AWARD
(THE 8-11 YEARS OLD CATEGORY)
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With 741 entries from 90 schools (including a homeschooling site) across 19 countries to judge, the Stuart J. Murphy Award (the 8-11 years old category) marks our most competitive year yet.
The competition is also very inclusive with 449 female students and 292 male students 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 HarperCollins.
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.
Allen School Kota (India)
Archer Academy Secondary School (UK)
Army Public School Ambala Cantt (India)
Army Public School Bangalore (India)
Bangkok Patana School (Thailand)
Bawtry Mayflower Primary School (UK)
Belmont Mill Hill School (UK)
Birla Open Minds International School (India)
British International School Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia)
British School of Milan (Italy)
Bucklands Beach Intermediate (New Zealand)
Carmondean Primary School (UK)
Cherry Lane Elementary School (USA)
City Junior School (UK)
Codsall Middle School (UK)
Dair House School (UK)
Downsway Primary School (UK)
Dulwich College Beijing (China)
Dulwich Hamlet Junior School (UK)
Dumpton School (UK)
Eaton House The Manor Girls School (UK)
Falcons School (UK)
Felsted Prep School (UK)
Fulham Prep School (UK)
Galaxy Montessori Academy (India)
Goldthorn Park Primary School (UK)
Hampton Court House (UK)
Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
Harry Hoag Elementary School (USA)
Heatherton School (UK)
Highdown School (UK)
Hinchingbrooke School (UK)
Holy Name Primary School (UK)
Hornsby House School (UK)
Hylands Primary School (UK)
I Can School (Vietnam)
Ilford County High School (UK)
International School Zurich North (Switzerland)
Katesgrove Primary School (UK)
Keelonith Primary School (Australia)
Kelburn Normal School (New Zealand)
KingJames Academy Royston (UK)
Kingsteignton School (UK)
Landewednack Primary School (UK)
Langley Grammar School (UK)
Legacy International School (India)
Leiria International School (Portugal)
Lloyd Gymnasium (Germany)
Maiden Erlegh School in Reading (UK)
Melbourne Grammar School (Australia)
Milton Keynes Prep School (UK)
Munich International School (Germany)
Newlands School (UAE)
Newstead Wood School (UK)
Norland Place School (UK)
Oberoi International School (India)
Our Lady Immaculate Primary School (UK)
PEP School v2 (India)
Pinewood School (UK)
Pushpalata British International School (India)
Royal Rise Primary School (UK)
Ruyton Girls School (Australia)
Saint Kentigern Boys School (New Zealand)
Saracens High School (UK)
School of Excellence (India)
SD Gagas Ceria (Indonesia)
Sharafuddin School (Maldives)
Sherburn Hungate Primary School (UK)
Silver Oaks International School (India)
SMP Negeri 6 Mataram (Indonesia)
St Christopher’s London (UK)
St George’s Bickley Primary School (UK)
St Martin’s College (Malta)
St Paul’s Senior Secondary School (India)
St Peter’s York School (UK)
Taipei European School (Taiwan)
Talavera Junior School (UK)
Tanglin Trust School (Singapore)
Tannery Drift First School (UK)
The Hall School (UK)
The Study Prep (UK)
Thomas Arnold Primary School (UK)
Thorp Academy (UK)
Tormead School (UK)
Townley Grammar School (UK)
Trevelyan Middle School (UK)
Trinity Grammar School (Australia)
Wimbledon High School (UK)
Winhills Primary Academy (UK)
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 Cindy Neuschwander Award (the 12-16 years old category), click here.
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.
WINNER
'Once Upon a Highest Common Factor' by Samara Dhankar (11 years old)
at Oberoi International School (India)
'Once Upon a Highest Common Factor' by Samara Dhankar (11 years old)
at Oberoi International School (India)
Click here to read this story
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What the judges say: "You have done it again, Samara! Congratulations on winning the YMSA Stuart J. Murphy Award for the third year in a row. This is truly a great achievement. Like your earlier winning entries, this year’s story is delightful and beautifully illustrated. I am impressed that you decided to take on the difficult task of explaining the complex mathematical concept of highest common denominator within a story. Through your descriptive text and your excellent diagrams, you have succeeded in this challenge. You have also created a story that is engaging and unique in its structure. The setting of being able to enter favorite fairy tales is charming and intriguing. It is impressive that your story also includes the introduction of different cultures through the characters you selected. Finally, it was clever to highlight the commonalities that exist between numbers, as well as in people, places and life. What a pleasure it was to read your lovely story, Samara!" |
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What the author says: “Once Upon a Highest Common Factor is a story that celebrates the nostalgia of childhood tales. It blends the magic of fairy tales with the concept of the Highest Common Factor (HCF) and portrays the importance of finding the ‘highest common factors’ between us rather than focusing on our differences. Through experiences like dividing treats or creating fair teams, Marianne’s journey illustrates how the concept of HCF can be used to achieve fairness, equality and equal opportunity. Creating story picture books on mathematical concepts in the past years has made Maths not only engaging for me but also practical and meaningful. I encourage all teachers to offer their students the opportunity to create their own mathematical story picture books. Learning Maths through stories not only enhances understanding but also nurtures problem-solving skills and a positive attitude towards learning Maths. I strongly believe that a story can always make the world of maths come alive!" |
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What the judges say: "What a cute story! This author uses a snail race to demonstrate how to use a formula to determine the winner of a race. The text is accompanied by excellent graphs and other visual models, all fully integrated into the storyline. Whether visual or verbal, the explanations are clear and accurate, making it easy for readers to understand the mathematics involved in this tale. Congratulations on having created a very successful math story, Rin." |
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What the author says: "When I thought of a race, I wanted to pick the slowest, most unexpected racers - and snails felt perfect. They’re slow, but with some math, even a snail race can get intense. Turning the race into a maths story was pretty fun. I got to mix math with some drama, making each snail’s finish time feel like a big, suspenseful moment. When you create a mathematical story picture book, it helps you remember the important mathematical facts and helps retain them for use when solving problems in the future. To all Maths teachers, letting students create mathematical story picture books isn’t just about math, but also about developing creative thinking skills and seeing math from a new perspective." |
SHORTLISTED
'The Most Amazing Robot' by Vidhula Jayasena (9 years old)
at Keelonith Primary School (Australia)
'The Most Amazing Robot' by Vidhula Jayasena (9 years old)
at Keelonith Primary School (Australia)
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What the judges say: "What a clever story, with a nice surprise at the end. This author has presented us with a tale that starts with disappointment when four siblings learn that they don’t have enough money to buy the robot of their dreams. Filled with carefully constructed diagrams that demonstrate the workings of addition and subtraction, the siblings make their way through a variety of seemingly unrelated purchases while they spend the money that was given to them by their mother. This all comes together at the end in a detailed chart and a nice message about getting what you need and want. Excellent work, Vidhula!" |
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What the author says: "I chose to write a story about money because I wanted to teach others about how to use different denominations of money to make it easier to do calculations with bigger amounts. I decided to use a robot as the item that the characters wanted to buy because I like robots and they can be expensive and can come in different parts, so it worked perfectly with the parts of the story that I had thought of already. Writing this mathematical story was enjoyable because I was able to use my imagination and think of an interesting situation to have as the problem. Having illustrations also makes it easier to understand the maths in the story and the different denominations of money, because you can see them visually. I think maths teachers should encourage students to write their own maths stories because it helps them learn about maths and writing at the same time." |
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What the judges say: "What a brilliant idea to use fractions to teach readers about the Muslim month of fasting known as Ramadan. There is so much to learn from this story. The author has seamlessly integrated fractions of time into a text that highlights the benefits of fasting and the goals of Ramadan, including sharing, patience and kindness. The entire story is infused with the human values that come from fasting and worship. The fractions are well explained within the text and well supported by a variety of visual displays. The story is fresh and authentic, and very informative. What a great achievement, Alim." |
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What the author says: "This story was inspired by the idea of combining the spiritual lessons of Ramadan with the everyday learning of math, showing children how even small fractions of time and effort can lead to great meaning and growth. Creating a mathematical story picture book was both enjoyable and meaningful: it helped me see how maths isn’t just about numbers, but about real-life connections. Exploring concepts like fractions through storytelling deepened my own understanding and made maths learning feel more creative and personal. To all teachers, giving students the opportunity to create mathematical story picture books helps them connect numbers to real-life experiences in a meaningful and creative way. It deepens understanding, fosters critical thinking, and makes math feel alive and relevant – one story at a time." |
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What the judges say: "This story begins when a baker named Bella creates a large square cake for the queen’s birthday. The problem is that it must be cut into 32 evenly sized pieces. The author first shows a few diagrams that don’t work. Then an understanding of perimeter and finding the area of triangles come into play to assure that everyone will get a fair-sized piece. The diagrams that show the solution are clear and helpful in augmenting the text to explain how this is accomplished. The ending is a happy one for all! Thank you for submitting this charming story, Jiahan." |
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What the author says: "I was inspired by a story I'd read about an animal that had a curse of unhappiness, so I decided to write a story trying to make everyone happy with an equal slice of cake. Creating this mathematical story picture book has helped me to learn about a triangle's area, the way to calculate it is by halving the base and multiplying the height. I used this formula to make sure everyone had the same amount of cake! I also really enjoy drawing pictures. My message to all Maths teachers out there is that mathematical story picture books are fun to make for students, and it also can help with maths learning of both the students who create the maths story picture books and the ones who read it!" |
SHORTLISTED
'The Search for Decimals and Fractions' by Liam Ng (10 years old)
at Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
'The Search for Decimals and Fractions' by Liam Ng (10 years old)
at Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
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What the judges say: "This author has taken on the ambitious task of explaining the relationships between fractions, decimals and percentages within a story filled with drama. The setting for this complex tale is a planet named Decimal Way where the characters are the mathematical symbols themselves. As the story unfolds, the reader soon sees that friendship, cooperation and empathy are all on full display as vehicles for reinforcing these mathematical relationships. To solidify the reader’s understanding, symbols are used throughout the text and then displayed in a clear chart. Excellent work, Liam!" |
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What the author says: "I was inspired to write my maths story because I like to go on adventures. I was confident with my understanding of decimals and fractions before writing my story, but having to think about how to explain these concepts to readers made it more challenging in a good way. I think I understand them both even better now! If you want to write a maths story, I like to link this to what I am learning and then find a storyline to make it fun. I think Maths teachers should provide opportunities for their students to create maths story picture books as it I think it can help make them think more about the maths that they are learning." |
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What the judges say: "The setting for this story is a town named Shapesville where all the buildings are very colorful, but the inhabitants are plain two-dimensional shapes. Luckily, Mrs. Square, who would like to be as colorful as the buildings, has a ready supply of 1-centimeter square tiles in a wide variety of bright colors. Mr. Rectangle takes on the task of measuring the length and breadth of Mrs. Square to find her area and determine how many tiles will be needed to cover her. From this beginning, the story makes its way though ever more complex shapes with easily understandable diagrams to help the reader learn how to find their areas. Thank you for this interesting, engaging and very colorful story, Anshika." |
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What the author says: "I was inspired to write my story on the topic of area because I had always found the concept important yet hard to remember the formulas. I wanted area to be the answer to a problem and so, I decided to write my story about a town - Shapeville - where shapes used area to make their lives a little more colourful - both literally and figuratively. I enjoyed every part of creating this mathematical story picture book - from coming up with the idea, writing it, illustrating it, and ending with my vision coming to life. The process of learning maths through creating this story picture book was personally very useful as it made it easier for me to understand Area which I was struggling with. Putting the shapes together and placing the tiles helped me to visualise the concept better and I understood the formulas well. I think that all Maths teachers should encourage their students to create their own maths story picture books as it is a great way to learn math while being creative and along with that - having fun!" |
SHORTLISTED
'Rounding with Hammy' by Hailey Ng (10 years old)
at Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
'Rounding with Hammy' by Hailey Ng (10 years old)
at Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
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What the judges say: "Poor Hammy doesn’t know how much money he needs to buy the ingredients to make all the pastries for the grand opening of his bakery. Not until he learns how to round numbers to the nearest ten and estimate totals, that is. This cute story provides the foundation for learning the important mathematical skills of rounding and estimation. The beginning of the story nicely establishes Hammy’s problem. Then the reader is taken through several examples before a solution is found. The result is a happy ending with a clear explanation of these skills. Congratulations on a job well done, Hailey." |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for my YMSA entry was how I love to bake, and I also wanted a hamster at the time of writing. I chose the concept of rounding because I love to round in Maths. It was really useful to think about how I could show my ideas using a mixture of words, numbers, symbols and pictures. Creating my story helped me think about this maths concept, which further developed my understanding. My message for Maths teachers is that children should create their own maths story picture books because I would like to write more Maths stories in school because I like to write stories, and I like Maths too!" |
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What the judges say: "In this story, Emily enters a dart throwing competition but quickly learns that she is not very good at hitting the target. Then her friend Darcey shows her how she can use angles to help her succeed. Through a series of helpful diagrams, we learn how to measure a wide variety of angles. There are several lessons to be learned in this fine story about angles, dart throwing and persistence. Emily comes out a winner, as do you, Tabitha, for this charming story." |
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What the author says: "I have always enjoyed playing darts and maths has always been my favourite subject at school. I enjoyed writing my story and using my knowledge of angles to apply to darts. Art is another part I enjoy, so I loved drawing the story as illustrations. Dear Maths teachers everywhere, the process of creating mathematical story picture books mixes learning maths with art and story writing, and it makes maths really fun for students!" |
LONGLISTED ENTRIES
The judges would also like to offer congratulations to authors of the following entries which were longlisted for the 2025 Stuart J. Murphy Award!
The judges would also like to offer congratulations to authors of the following entries which were longlisted for the 2025 Stuart J. Murphy Award!
'Job Interviews at Math Company' by Troy Laurie Gluckman (9 years old) at Saint Kentigern Boys School (New Zealand)
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'An Adventure to the Forest' by Freya Tabinda Kharisma (9 years old) at SD Gagas Ceria (Indonesia)
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'Growing Up with Unit Conversions' by Cailey Ng (10 years old) at Harrow International School Hong Kong (China)
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'The Route of Perimeter and the House of Area' by Ira Malkani (10 years old) at Oberoi International School (India)
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'Upside Down and Turned Around' by Emilia Niesner Vasquez (11 years old) at St Christopher's London (UK)
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'The Unknown Sector!' by Sophie Mancuso (11 years old) at St Christopher's London (UK)
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