Aarya Won A Silver In The UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge
Aarya Bondugulapati won a Gold Award in the Primary Mathematics Challenge in November 2025, then a Silver Certificate in the UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2026. He has learned with his Cuemath tutor, Shilpa Sekhri, for almost five years.
Aarya has been learning maths with Cuemath for almost five years, through weekly online math tutoring with his tutor, Shilpa Sekhri. His family describes those years as a journey full of fun, learning and growth. In the space of a few months, he won awards in two of the UK's national maths challenges: a Gold at primary level, then a Silver on the harder junior paper.
Meet Aarya
- Grade: 7
- Country: UAE
- Tutor: Shilpa Sekhri
- With Cuemath for: almost five years
- UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge 2026: Silver Certificate
- Primary Mathematics Challenge, November 2025: Gold Award
The Junior Mathematical Challenge Rewards Thinking
Every year, the UK Mathematics Trust sets the Junior Mathematical Challenge for students in Year 8 and below, with schools in the UK and overseas taking part. There are 25 multiple-choice questions to solve in 60 minutes, with the questions designed to make students think rather than simply follow a familiar method.
In 2026, students needed 59 marks or more to earn a Silver certificate.
From A Primary Gold To A Junior Silver
In November 2025, Aarya earned a Gold Award in the Primary Mathematics Challenge, the Mathematical Association's paper for younger students. A few months later, he sat the Junior Mathematical Challenge 2026, a paper set for students up to Year 8, and came away with a Silver Certificate.
Aarya's awards
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His Parents Credit His Tutor and the Engaging Platform
When Aarya’s parents talk about his time with Cuemath, they point to two things: his tutor and the interactive platform. On Cuemath, a math problem is something a student works through, not just reads. Aarya can write his working directly on the screen alongside the question, while explaining his thinking and working through the problem with his tutor.
Many questions come with built-in tools that Aarya can use as he works. He can measure an angle with an on-screen protractor, plot points on a grid, or drag shapes into place. The tools let him explore an idea as he is learning it.
That habit carries over to a UKMT paper. The questions there are unfamiliar on purpose, and the students who do well are the ones who try an idea, test it and check it, rather than wait for a method they recognise.
"Aarya has been with Cuemath for almost five wonderful years, enjoying a journey filled with fun, learning, and growth. We are grateful to his fantastic teacher, Madam Shilpa, and the interactive platform that has made mathematics so engaging. As parents, we are incredibly proud of the young man not only for his achievements, but also for his strong work ethic, zeal for learning, and consistent efforts."
~ Aarya's Parent
Consistent Effort Makes a Child MathFit
Aarya did not get ready for the UKMT paper in one term. He got ready over years of weekly classes. His parents are proud of his awards, but they are just as proud of his work ethic, his love of learning and his steady effort. That is what being MathFit looks like: putting in the work week after week, so that when a hard paper comes, you are ready for it.
Aarya is not the only Cuemath student to take on this paper; another student won a Gold in the Junior Mathematical Challenge with Cuemath.
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