Mathematical champions: Dötling primary school celebrates young winners!

Mathematical champions: Dötling primary school celebrates young winners!

Dötlinger Grundschule, Deutschland - On May 14, 2025, the students of the Dötlingen primary school celebrate their success in the mathematics competition "Kangaroo of Mathematics". The school awarded awards to a total of 30 children from the third and fourth classes. The third grader Lahja Weber, who not only won the competition at her school, was particularly noticed, but was also one of the eight best of 1,000 participants from all over Germany nationwide. This year, 881,228 students from 12,600 schools took part in the competition nationwide, which has grown steadily since its foundation in 1995. Kreiszeitung reports that the young mathematicians had 75 minutes to solve 24 tasks.

The preparations of the winners varied significantly: While Lahja regularly practiced at home, her colleagues Milan Stock and Henry Neumann only briefly looked at the exercises. The latter took two and three at the Dötling primary school. All three winners have already announced that they want to take part in the competition again next year to face the challenges of the higher grades.

Special commitment of the teachers and parents

Rector Melanie Kahnt-Bock and teacher Joan Steinkamp not only praised the outstanding performance of the children, but also thanked the primary school support association, who took over the entry fee for the competition. This commitment is particularly important because it enables the students to take part in a worldwide mathematics event. The “kangaroo” competition has now become one of the largest educational actions in Germany.

The Dötling primary school has been participating in the competition for many years, but had to pause last year due to organizational reasons. In comparison, the competition took up more than six million students from over 100 countries worldwide.

The kangaroo competition in an international context

The competition, which started in 1995 with only 184 participants, has developed into an important platform to promote the joy of mathematics. According to the website of the Kanguru-Initiative , participation without digital response slips is possible, which can be a decisive advantage for many schools. The students had to enter their response letters after the processing time, which requires a precise approach.

In addition to kangaroo, there are other renowned math competitions in Germany that are supported by Education & Talent. These competitions, such as the Mathematics Olympiad or the Federal Mathematics Competition, promote precise thinking and creative problem solutions, which are important in many areas of life. Stifterverband emphasizes that such mathematical skills are key qualifications for future professions, for example in software programming or in the creation of timetables.