Challenge Yourself
🕒 Read time: 5 mins
You’ve probably been told time and time again that education is a privilege and you shouldn’t waste it, so I’m not going to sit here and tell you things you’ve heard many times. What I am going to tell you, is that if you go to school everyday, find all the work easy and just do what is required of you, you are NOT getting the most out of your education. The reason for this is that true learning comes from challenges. The Theory of Challenge (Davies, 2025) refers to the idea that individuals or systems grow, adapt and improve when faced with challenges or obstacles. So the next time you are really struggling with an equation or a concept, or even an essay, keep in mind that the challenge is where the true learning begins. Remember that we don’t learn just for good grades on a piece of paper when we leave school, but instead to better ourselves and our minds, becoming better people overall. That is why, in this article, I am going to highlight ways that you could stretch yourself outside of the school curriculum in order to maximise your learning opportunities.
Maths: Challenging Your Problem-Solving Skills
A great way to challenge yourself is through academic challenges and competitions. A notable example of this is the Maths Challenge, organised by the UK Mathematics Trust or UKMT for short. The Maths Challenge has three different levels of difficulty : Junior, Intermediate and Senior - which are designed for different age groups. The challenge involves timed, multiple choice, paper-based tests which require problem-solving skills instead of simply recalling and using equations.
Taking part in the Maths Challenge will allow you to view maths as an enjoyable puzzle as opposed to tedious and repetitive questions. Although the questions are much more difficult than you would be accustomed to, they allow you to build resilience and patience. They also require you to think outside the box and envision maths in a way you wouldn’t usually in a GCSE or A-Level maths exam. This is why, despite how highly you score, the UKMT Maths Challenge is a valuable opportunity which would allow you to develop many new skills.
The UKMT challenges usually take place during the autumn and spring terms each academic year and entries must be made through schools. This means that if you are interested, it is important to speak to your maths teacher early on. Often, all a school needs is a student to show enthusiasm in order to register and put pupils forward.
Science: Going Above and Beyond
Another example of a great academic challenge to take part in is the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. This is a challenge which is similar to the UKMT Maths Challenge, but for Chemistry. I sat the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge during my end-of-year mocks in Year 12. Despite the fact that it was optional, I decided to take part in the challenge because there was nothing to lose.
Going into the challenge, I expected it to be very hard, almost impossible even, but I had resolved to myself that no matter how difficult the paper was, I wouldn’t give up. The paper was in fact very difficult and stretched far beyond the A-Level syllabus, but I kept going anyway. I used prior knowledge from A-Level and simply tried, and kept trying until the end. To my surprise, I ended up receiving a Gold award in that challenge. However, the award I received was not my most valuable takeaway from this experience. By attempting these more advanced questions, I learnt about concepts and ideas in Chemistry that I would have never come across otherwise, unless I studied degree-level Chemistry. These ideas helped shed a whole new light on what I was learning as part of the A-Level course.
There are similar opportunities available in other sciences. For example, students interested in Biology can take part in the Biology Challenge or British Biology Olympiad, which reward wider reading and application of knowledge beyond the curriculum. Physics students can challenge themselves through the British Physics Olympiad challenges, which require creative application of physics principles rather than memorisation. Like the Chemistry Challenge, these competitions are designed to stretch students and are usually entered through schools, meaning students may need to ask their teachers to register them.
English: Extending Your Thinking
Essay competitions are another excellent way to challenge yourself and extend your knowledge of a subject, particularly in English and the humanities. Many universities run essay competitions for a wide range of subject areas, and these competitions often have cash prizes. Other than the cash incentive, which is hard to ignore, essay competitions are an amazing opportunity to research a subject you enjoy in far more depth.
Examples include university-run competitions such as the Armstrong Arts and Humanities Essay Competition or essay competitions hosted by outreach programmes like Immerse Education. These competitions require you to engage with unfamiliar ideas, combine different aspects of your knowledge and produce a well-articulated piece of writing on a challenging question.
Essay competitions demand sustained effort and confidence when exploring new areas of study, all of which help to build resilience. More importantly, they encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone, allowing for growth and self-discovery. Whilst writing an essay for a competition, you will inevitably research topics beyond the school curriculum, which is ultimately another valuable opportunity to learn. Many essay competitions allow students to enter independently online, although parents and teachers can often provide useful support with planning and feedback.
Conclusion
To conclude, the best way to truly learn is to stretch yourself beyond what is required of you at school. It is key to remember that the National Curriculum is the minimum and not the limit. There is far more knowledge out there that is not on the curriculum, and that does not mean you shouldn’t try to access it. Knowledge is a privilege, and today there are more opportunities than ever to learn outside of the classroom, so why not take advantage of them to increase your knowledge and better yourself?
References
-Davies, R. (2025) The Theory of Challenge. London: Educational Insights Publishing.
-UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) (n.d.) UKMT Maths Challenges. Available at: https://ukmt.org.uk (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
-Cambridge Chemistry Challenge (n.d.) Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. Available at: https://www.c3l6.com (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
-UK Biology Competitions (n.d.) Biology Challenge and British Biology Olympiad. Available at: https://www.ukbiologycompetitions.org (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
-British Physics Olympiad (n.d.) Physics Challenges and Olympiads. Available at: https://www.bpho.org.uk (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
-Magdalene College, University of Cambridge (n.d.) Armstrong Arts and Humanities Essay Competition. Available at: https://www.magd.cam.ac.uk (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
-Immerse Education (n.d.) Immerse Education Essay Competition. Available at: https://www.immerse.education (Accessed: 15 December 2025).
Rawan is a dedicated Maths and Science tutor currently pursuing a degree in Mathematics at university. As both a Tutor and Content Writer for Learn Science Together, Rawan combines academic excellence with a passion for inspiring others. Having achieved A* grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, and Chemistry at A Level, she writes engaging, insightful articles that help students gain confidence, deepen understanding, and master the skills needed to achieve top grades.
