Tom Rocks Maths: Essay Competition 2025

Originally launched in 2020 as a partnership between Tom Rocks Maths and St Edmund Hall, the competition aims to provide the participants with the opportunity to communicate complex ideas in an understandable manner, and to encourage them to engage with maths beyond any curriculum.

Competition details

There are no eligibility requirements, all you need is a passion for maths and a flair for writing to participate! The closing date is 11:59pm on Monday 7 April 2025. Entries can be submitted here.

There are two strands of entry:

  • 16-18 (student); and
  • Over-18 (adult)

Please note: A ‘student' is defined as anyone who is still studying full-time at school or college, university students fall into the ‘adult’' category.

There is no word limit for the essays, but as a guideline 1000-2000 words is sufficient. All entries must be submitted using the online form as PDF or Microsoft Word documents.

The winners will be selected by Dr Tom Crawford, Public Engagement Lead and Departmental Lecturer, and the creator of the award-winning ’Tom Rocks Maths’. All entries will be published on the Tom Rocks Maths website as part of the essay showcase. 

Choosing your essay topic

The mathematical topic of your essay can be anything you choose, but if you’re struggling to come up with ideas, here are a few examples to get you started:

Previous years' entries:

Previous editions of the competition have received extremely high numbers of excellent submissions, all of which can be found at the links below:

If you have any questions about the competition or would like some more information, please contact Tom at tom.crawford@conted.ox.ac.uk.

How to enter

Please submit your entries through this link: competition entries 2025.

Entries should be submitted before the deadline of 11:59pm on Monday 7 April 2025 to be counted. Essays should be uploaded in PDF or Word Document format.

Last year's winning essays

Student category: 

Adult category: 

Data policy

Personal data

Personal data is information that relates to you. In the course of completing this Tom Rocks Maths: Essay Competition submission form, you have provided the Department with information about yourself, which is known as personal data.

What will the Department do with your data?

The Department will collect, process, share, and use personal data for the purposes of notifying you if you are successful in the competition. You will be notified shortly after the competition closes on Monday 7 April 2025. The Department will only discuss your personal information with you, unless you have nominated a third party.

Retention

This information will be retained until the winner of the competition has been announced, after which it will be securely deleted.

Legal Basis of Processing

The legal basis for processing your information is that this processing is necessary to notify you if you have been successful in the competition.

Read our full Privacy Policy terms.