DATES FOR 2023 COMPETITIONS
Geraldton, Esperance & Kalgoorlie heats to be held during weeks 8 & 9 of Term 3 2023 as follows:
Geraldton 1 – Monday 4th September, Geraldton 2 – Tuesday 5th September, Esperance – Friday 8th September, Kalgoorlie – Monday 11th September.
Perth & Bunbury heat dates are in Term 4 2023 as follows:
Bunbury – Monday 16th October, Northern – Wednesday 18th October, South Eastern – Friday 20th October, Southern – Monday 23rd October, Coastal – Wednesday 25th October, Central – Friday 27th October, City – Monday 30th October, Riverside – Wednesday 1st November, North Western – Thursday 2nd November, Grand Final – Thursday 9th November.
Click here to register now for 2023!
Please get in contact with [email protected] for any enquiries as to the regions in which heats are held.
These are subject to change dependent on registrations
Competition Information – Please read before registration!
Teams: We guarantee to accept 2 teams per school, however schools can register for up to 4 teams if space allows. Once all registered schools are allocated their 2 teams each, the extra teams are then offered on a first in best dressed basis. Therefore, if you want more than two teams, early registration is recommended. Team numbers are not confirmed until after registration has closed at the end of week 8, term 2 (Friday 16th June 2023).
Heats/Venues: Where possible, first preferences are given, but cannot be guaranteed. Placement in heats is dependent on registration numbers and proximity to the hosting venues. Please always check alternative dates of heats – just in case! Please also consider being a host school, as we would love to go to as many different schools as possible. (If there is a date you definitely can’t attend, please feel free to add this information in the ‘comments’ section.)
There is also the possibility of heat venue amendments, again depending on location of registrations. If you have queries on the best heats for your school, please get in touch via email ([email protected]) for advice.
Registration Fee: There is a nominal registration fee of $50 per school, regardless of the number of teams entered in the event. An invoice for this fee will be issued once registration has been recorded and is payable a minimum of 4 weeks prior to competing. This fee is non-refundable.
Confirmation: On receipt of your registration, you will receive a short “acknowledgement of registration” email within 48 hours. Official confirmation of team numbers allocated, heat, date, venue, etc will be emailed to you following close of registrations. You can expect this email by the end of week 10, term 2. If you haven’t received either of these emails by the above deadlines, please get in touch with [email protected] immediately, or phone 0409 082 291
Background of Competition
This is a competition that has been running in Western Australian primary schools since 1998. It began with two divisions of 18 teams playing in qualification rounds before a final, and has steadily grown in numbers. In 2005, there were four qualifying rounds, and in 2006, due to increasing interest from country areas, one of the qualifying rounds was held at Geraldton, from which three teams qualified to compete at the final in Perth.
A Geraldton heat occurred again in 2007 (with 18 teams), while a qualifying heat was held at Esperance (with 12 teams), from which one team won a place in the final. The year 2008 saw this support for Numero® increase, with five qualifying heats, one each in Geraldton and Esperance, and three in Perth.
In 2009, the competition grew to include four Perth heats and two country heats, and in 2010 grew again to five Perth heats and three country heats (including Bunbury for the first time).
2011 saw the AFG Interschool Numero® Challenge continue to grow with ten heats, four in the country and six in Perth. Geraldton, Esperance and Bunbury continued, with the addition of a heat in Manjimup, in the Warren-Blackwood region. 2012 has continued on with more schools participating in the existing ten heats. In 2013 the Challenge grew yet again, with a fifth heat in the country (a second Bunbury heat) and a seventh heat in the metropolitan area. This has altered slightly in recent years, with every year having 12 heats but the disbursement being slightly different each year depending on registrations. Since 2019 there has been 4 regional heats and 8 metropolitan heats.
2023 will see the addition of a Kalgoorlie heat, a completely new region for this event. This brings the make-up of heats to 5 regional heats (Geraldton – 2 heats, Esperance – 1 heat, Kalgoorlie – 1 heat, Bunbury – 1 heat) and 8 metropolitan heats.
Teams compete for generous book prizes, at both heats and finals, while the winning teams in the final also win cash prizes for their school of $1000, $500 and $250 respectively.
AFG (Australian Finance Group)
Like Numero®, AFG originated here in WA, and in fact, the Interschool Numero® Challenge is just one year younger than AFG. However, both AFG and Numero® have grown far beyond the boundaries of their state of origin. Numero® has spread not only throughout English-speaking countries (including the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, USA and Canada), but also through SE Asia, Japan and Korea.
Established in 1994, AFG has grown to become one of Australia’s largest mortgage broking groups and leaders in financial solutions. With 3,000+ mortgage brokers around Australia, AFG is one of the largest mortgage provider companies in the country. AFG brokers have the ability to offer their customers a choice of over 4,250+ finance products from more than 55 of Australia’s lenders. Each month AFG brokers help more than 7,500 Australians get the right loan for their home.
Numero is honoured and proud to have developed this association with AFG, and in 2023 will have had their support through sponsorship for seventeen years. It is thanks to AFG that schools compete for prizes at both heats and finals, with generous cash prizes awarded to the top three schools in the final. 2010 began the awarding of extra cash prizes, with the first placed school winning $1000, second place $500 and third place $250.
Edwina Forward Engraving
Since the inception of this competition in 1998, Edwina Forward Engraving (EFE) has provided all our trophies without charge. In 2007, they provided a new perennial shield, as well as engraved medallions for the winning team, to mark the 10th anniversary of the competition. This occurred again in 2022, with a new perennial shield and medallions to mark our 25th anniversary! EFE have been an amazing supporter of Numero®, and we truly appreciate this continuing association.
The AFG Interschool Numero® Challenge 2022
The 25th year of the AFG Interschool Numero® Challenge continued its proud history of support from WA schools, despite the difficulties of having to deal with COVID-19 for the third year running. With a competition that has maintained the significant modifications made in 2020, including distancing, cleaning, sanitising, etc, IET have been thrilled that the competition still hasn’t missed a beat! A big thank you to all schools for their understanding and co-operation throughout yet another difficult year.
The twelve heat winners (in alphabetical order): Bunbury Terrific Triangles, Carey Baptist Decimal Dragons, Castletown Mathematical Marbles, Comet Bay Mathterminds, Dongara Destroyers, Excelsior Leap Frogs, Mullaloo Beach Plus People, St Lawrence’s Cloak of Divisibility, Sutherland Dianella Destroyers, Swan Valley Anglican Number Ninjas, Wattle Grove Additions and Willetton Wizards.
The remaining six places in the final went to the next highest scoring teams (in alphabetical order): Campbell Dominating Denominators, Ranford Try-Hards, Ranford 110%, Sutherland Dianella 2 the Power of 2, Wattle Grove Equalisers and Willetton Wonders.
Official Championship Photo 2022
Left to right: Mr Mike Ellis, State Manager (WA), Campion Education; Mr Scott Chandler, Business Relationship Manager, Homes & Commercial Loans, Australian Finance Group (AFG); Carey Baptist College Decimal Dragons; Mrs Julie Richards, Director, Independent Education & Training (IET); and Mr Stuart Percival, Assistant Executive Director, Service Delivery, Statewide Services, WA Department of Education.

Champions 2022
(1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively)

Winners: Carey Baptist College (Decimal Dragons)

2nd Place: Willetton Primary School (Wonders)

3rd Place: St Lawrence Catholic Primary School (Cloak of Divisibility)
Carey Baptist College (Decimal Dragons) were over the moon at going back-to-back in 2022, particularly with it being our 25th anniversary! Scores again were tight, with 2nd place only 16 points behind, and 3rd only another 2. Willetton Primary School (Wonders) finished in second place for the second year in a row, and St Lawrence Catholic Primary School (Cloak of Divisibility) in third – their best result ever!!
The work Carey have put into their maths program, incorporating Numero as a significant part of that, is clearly visible in this year’s result. Their achievements continue to prove that hard work can deliver great results. It is also fantastic to see this hard work in other schools now showing in the results, with Willetton constantly challenging for the championship and now St Lawrence (Bluff Point, Geraldton) proving the regional areas can still contend.
Carey do now have a target on their back, with all schools determined to take the trophy off them – 2 years is enough, isn’t it?? We’re already excited to see where the trophy ends up in 2023.
This year continued the trend for closeness of results overall, with 32 points between 1st and 6th (similar to 2022). The next positions went to: 4th – Ranford Primary School (Try-Hards), 5th – Sutherland Dianella Primary School (2 to the Power of 2), 6th – Campbell Primary School (Dominating Dominators).
This year’s Numero® final was held at Wattle Grove Primary School, and what an amazing job they did.
VIP Presenters: Our special guest on the day was Mr Scott Chandler, Business Relationship Manager, Homes & Commercial Loans, Australian Finance Group (AFG), who was the sponsor of the event for the sixteenth year in succession.
Scott presented the prizes for position winners, as well as the trophies to our winning team from Carey Baptist College. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of AFG and look forward to their continued association with Numero® in WA.
Being our 25th anniversary of this competition we had the pleasure of Dr Paul Swan joining us. Paul played a big part in helping Frank Drysdale (Numero creator) get Numero tested and accepted in the education world. We were thrilled to have Paul join us and speak with students during the competition.
Our other special guests included Mr Stuart Percival, Assistant Executive Director, Service Delivery, Statewide Services, WA Department of Education; Mr Mike Ellis, State Manager (WA), Campion Education and Mrs Paula McMahon, Executive Officer, Maths Association of Western Australia.
Apologies: Ms Ella Dachs, Chief Executive Officer, Alzheimer’s WA and Mr Warren Harding, Chairman, Alzheimer’s WA.
