Students in pyjamas, competing from home. Teachers asking, “How do we join next time?” Parents inquiring about subscriptions. Administration calling it “the future.”
New Generation International Schools’ first-ever World Maths Day participation was full of surprises.
In just one week, this first-year Saudi branch went from digital learning newcomers to global mathematics champions, ranking 3rd in Saudi Arabia and 66th globally out of 6,400 participating schools – during a national holiday break, no less!
The story of New Generation International Schools
New Generation International Schools operates across 16 branches – 8 in Saudi Arabia and 8 in Egypt – with their newest Saudi location presenting an exciting opportunity for Sara El Faramawy, Head of Mathematics for the British section.
Managing both British Cambridge and American Common Core curricula within a single institution, the school had built strong foundations in mental mathematics.
However, El Faramawy identified areas for improvement. Manual marking of sheets and quizzes was time-intensive and she wanted to boost student engagement while reducing teacher workload.
She was excited to share something she’d experienced at her previous school that could address these challenges.
World Maths Day – a global competition where students complete rapid-fire challenges against peers worldwide through Mathletics, our online maths program for schools.
The challenge: Finding a better way to teach maths
World Maths Day 2025 provided the perfect opportunity to trial what El Faramawy had seen work elsewhere.
The administration had practical questions: ‘How will it benefit our students? How can we track their progress?’ These were exactly the kinds of metrics World Maths Day could provide.
The timing also added an interesting test. World Maths Day 2025 fell during the school’s national break – would students voluntarily engage with mathematics from home, without direct supervision, during their holidays?
“We wanted to prove to our administration that it’s a very unique experience,” El Faramawy explains.
This was her chance to demonstrate the engagement and educational impact she’d witnessed before.
Discovering Mathletics through World Maths Day
As the school prepared for World Maths Day, they discovered that Mathletics offered much more than just competition access.
The program’s ability to support diverse curriculum standards was crucial for a school managing multiple educational pathways.
The alignment was perfect. British curriculum students preparing for 11+ examinations were already practising rapid-fire problem solving with 5-second time limits. Mathletics could enhance these skills year-round, not just during World Maths Day.
In the month leading up to the competition, students practised using Mathletics and its Live Mathletics competition feature in school labs and at home, revealing its true capabilities.
“When I have a student face a problem and he solves it correctly, he gets another question with another difficulty level,” El Faramawy notes. “When it’s harder and he doesn’t get it right, it gives him a hint… then moves to an easier question. I like the way it personalises learning and keeps students engaged.”
What stood out? Proven student engagement, curriculum alignment and personalised learning that worked beyond the competition.
The results: Beyond every expectation
Despite competing during their national holiday break, students achieved remarkable rankings: 3rd place in Saudi Arabia, 66th globally out of 6,400 schools – extraordinary results for first-time participants!
But the real transformation went deeper:
- Students became mathematics advocates. “Try to imagine our students at home during their break opening World Maths Day to compete!” El Faramawy recalls. “Students sent us videos, their scores and asked, ‘We want more… we want more than 20 challenges… there are students from another country trying to beat me!’”
- Parents evolved from observers to enthusiasts. As one father with triplets shared: “I want to thank the school for letting us join this competition… our kids now want to compete in maths with their classmates and students from around the world!” Witnessing their children voluntarily engage with challenging mathematics during holidays, parents became vocal supporters asking about continued subscriptions.
- Teachers experienced a remarkable shift. Educators who initially viewed digital tools as ‘extra work’ found themselves requesting training after witnessing student excitement. “When other classes ranked and their class didn’t, students asked ‘Why didn’t we participate?’ Teachers said ‘I need to learn more… I need to participate with my students.’”
- Administration became true believers. “They believe that this is the future,” El Faramawy explains. “They saw the impact from the scores, the rankings, the parents, the students and even from the teachers.”
During the practice month, teachers discovered the program’s automatic marking and detailed reporting eliminated their workload concerns while providing instant feedback.
“Our teachers loved it because there’s no correction needed. We overcame the problem of marking sheets and got direct reporting on who solved what.”
What’s next: Building across the network
New Generation International Schools’ success has created concrete momentum for expansion.
Academic directors from other branches have reached out, wanting to participate next time. With the administration now believing in the program’s value, there’s strong interest in expanding Mathletics usage across their network.
At the same time, teachers are eager to learn more about how to incorporate the program into their curriculum planning for next year.
“The team is really amazing and we know that if we have a partnership together, we’ll experience even more,” El Faramawy reflects.
