Competitions · Mathematics · CAT
CAT, Computational and Algorithmic Thinking.
An hour, nine questions, thirty-six marks - and despite what the name suggests, no programming at all. CAT tests how a student thinks about algorithms without asking them to write a line of code, which makes it the rare computing contest a mathematics student can enter cold.
At a glance
What the paper is, and who sits it.
CAT is run by the Australian Mathematics Trust, founded by the Australian mathematician Peter O’Halloran and based at the University of Canberra. ASDAN China has hosted the China region since 2017.
- Organiser
- The Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT)
- Who can enter
- Students from grade 5 to grade 12, across four difficulty levels
- Programming knowledge
- None required. CAT is explicitly not a programming contest and assumes no language and no coding experience
- What it tests
- Computational and algorithmic thinking - the reasoning behind programming rather than the writing of it
- Format
- Individual, written, sat at the level matching the student’s year group
- Duration
- 60 minutes
- Questions
- Nine, arranged from easier to harder
- Marks
- 36, with nothing deducted for a wrong answer
- Language
- English and Chinese
- Equipment
- A simple non-programmable calculator and a paper English-Chinese dictionary are both permitted
- Scale in China
- More than 1,400 students from 404 international schools and key high schools took part in a recent year, several with perfect scores
The misconception
It has "algorithmic" in the name and no code in the paper.
This is the thing families get wrong about CAT, in both directions - some assume it needs programming they do not have, others assume it will teach programming it does not cover.
No language, no syntax, no code
The organisers state plainly that no programming knowledge or computer language is needed. A student who has never opened an editor is not at a disadvantage here.
But the thinking is genuinely algorithmic
What is tested is the reasoning underneath programming: designing a procedure, following it precisely, and seeing where it becomes inefficient. That is the transferable half of computer science.
Which makes it a useful first step
For a mathematics student curious about computing, CAT is an unusually low-cost way to find out whether the way of thinking suits them before committing to learning a language.
And a diagnostic for a school
Because it needs no prior teaching, a school can enter a whole year group and see who has the aptitude - which is closer to what the contest is designed to surface than a ranking is.
The levels
Four papers across eight year groups.
A student sits the level that matches their year, and is ranked against others in the same year group and region rather than against the whole field.
| Level | Year groups |
|---|---|
| A | Upper primary, grades 5 and 6 |
| B | Junior secondary, grades 7 and 8 |
| C | Intermediate, grades 9 and 10 |
| D | Senior, grades 11 and 12 |
Award cut-offs are set by comparing a student against others in the same year and the same region, so a grade 9 student is not measured against grade 12 entrants.
The paper
Where the thirty-six marks sit.
Nine questions, but the last three are worth as much as the first six put together, because each carries three separate sub-questions.
| Questions | Type | Marks | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Multiple choice | 3 each | 18 |
| 7 to 9 | Three sub-questions each, answered as an integer from 0 to 999 | 2 per sub-question | 18 |
Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer, so every question and every sub-question should carry a response. A blank is always the worst outcome available.
Awards
Four bands, set within your year and region.
Each award goes to students reaching that percentile who have not already taken a higher one. Thresholds are approximate and move each year with the difficulty of the paper.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares students for CAT.
Because no syllabus content is assumed, preparation here is almost entirely about the format and the habit of thinking procedurally.
Past papers are the syllabus
With no content list to cover, AMT’s published past papers are the most direct preparation available. The question styles repeat even though the problems do not.
Answer every sub-question
Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer, and questions 7 to 9 carry three sub-questions each. Students practise ensuring all nine questions and every sub-part carry a response before time is called.
Thinking in procedures
The trainable skill is describing a method precisely enough to follow without judgement, then spotting where it does more work than it needs to. That is practised on problems rather than explained.
Under seven minutes a question
Nine questions in an hour, back-loaded. Timed practice concentrates on securing the six multiple-choice questions quickly so the three multi-part questions get the time they need.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for CAT at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for CAT is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past papers and preparation pack
The same material our own CAT students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFPast papers, every year the organiser has released
- PDFWorked solutions, where the organiser publishes them
- PDFThe syllabus on one page - every topic, and how heavily it is examined
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Dr Zhang
PhD in theoretical mathematics from the University of Rochester and a postdoctoral fellow at the Shanghai Center for Mathematical Sciences at Fudan. An AMC-accredited coach, ASDAN-accredited for DMM and ITCCC, and an accredited UKMT BMO2 and PUMaC coach. His students have gone on to read mathematics and physics at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Caltech and Cambridge.
Dr Zhuang
PhD in mathematics from the University of Denver, working in mathematical logic, after a first degree in applied mathematics at Southeast University. A repeat conference speaker on his research, with three years lecturing and assisting on undergraduate mathematics at Denver.
He
A Cambridge master's after a computer science degree with a mathematics minor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a US high school GPA of 4.13. Six years overseas and teaches entirely in English, across AMC, Math League, AP Computer Science and AP Calculus.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for CAT, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
CAT, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Do I need to know how to program?
No. The organisers state explicitly that no programming knowledge and no computer language is required. CAT tests the thinking behind algorithms, not the writing of code.
Who can enter?
Students from grade 5 to grade 12, across four levels: A for grades 5 and 6, B for 7 and 8, C for 9 and 10, and D for 11 and 12.
What is on the paper?
Nine questions in sixty minutes for 36 marks. Questions 1 to 6 are multiple choice at 3 marks each. Questions 7 to 9 each carry three sub-questions answered as an integer from 0 to 999, worth 2 marks each.
Is there a penalty for a wrong answer?
No. Nothing is deducted, so leaving a question or sub-question blank is always worse than attempting it.
Can I bring a calculator?
Yes, a simple calculator without programming functions. A paper English-Chinese dictionary is also permitted.
How are the awards decided?
High Distinction for the top 2%, Distinction for the top 15% and Credit for the top 50%, each awarded to students who have not already taken a higher award. Cut-offs are set within your own year group and region.
When is it held?
The China region sits it on a Sunday morning in late May. The international sitting runs across three days a few days earlier, with separate registration deadlines.
Can we get a refund if we withdraw?
Before the registration deadline, 25% of the fee is retained for academic materials and service. After the deadline the fee is not refundable.
Related
Where CAT leads.
Contests for students whose interest turns toward computing.
CAT enquiries
No code required, and no preparation gap to close first.
CAT is the one computing-adjacent contest a mathematics student can enter without learning a language first. Tell us the year group and an advisor will confirm the level and the May entry.