Canada · CEMC Gauss Contests · Grades 7 and 8

Gauss Contest preparation for Grades 7 and 8

The Gauss Contests are where many Canadian students meet a real math contest for the first time. CEMC, at the University of Waterloo, sets one paper for Grade 7 and one for Grade 8, printed back to back in the same booklet, and schools run them on a day of their choosing within a two-week window in May. The questions start gently and end with a few that CEMC says are there to test "ingenuity and insight". This guide is built from CEMC's Gauss page for 2027, the covers of the 2025 Gauss booklets and CEMC's 2026 Gauss results booklet. It covers the window, the paper, how schools mark it and award certificates, last year's mark bands, eight practice problems we wrote with solutions, two short Python programs that check our answers, and a plan to May 2027.

Book the free first class Book a priority demo Try the eight problems Ask on WhatsApp

Live online classes since 2020 · 10,000+ students, from age 6 · every problem on this page is ours, written for Grades 7 and 8

In a sentence or two

The Gauss Contests are CEMC's math contests for Grades 7 and 8: one hour, twenty-five multiple-choice questions and 150 marks, sat at school on a day the school picks between Monday 10 and Friday 21 May 2027. Students take part only through their school. Modern Age Coders prepares Grade 7 and 8 students live online, in a batch or one to one, in the Gauss track of its Waterloo Math Contests course, Gauss to Euclid.

Courses for Grades 7 and 8

Three courses for a Gauss student

The contest course has a Gauss track of its own. The competitions course widens the problem solving; the middle school course makes sure the Grade 7 and 8 math underneath is secure.

$Waterloo Math Contests course thumbnail$

GCP / 01

Waterloo Math Contests: Gauss to Euclid

Ages 11 to 18. Its Gauss track for Grades 7 and 8 meets twice a week live, sets problems between classes and runs timed rounds ahead of the May 2027 window.

Open the syllabus →

$Middle School Math Competitions course thumbnail$

GCP / 02

Middle school math competitions

Ages 10 to 14. Number theory, counting, algebra and geometry problem solving for students who like contest questions.

Open the syllabus →

GCP / 03

Middle school math

Fractions, ratio, percent, pre-algebra and geometry taught properly, the ground the first Gauss questions stand on.

Open the syllabus →

May 2027

The 2027 Gauss window, and what makes Gauss different

Gauss works a little differently from CEMC's high school contests. There is no single contest day, the school marks paper copies itself, and some certificates are decided inside each school. Everything below is from CEMC's Gauss page, read on 22 October 2026.

The 2027 Gauss Contests, from CEMC's Gauss page (read 22 October 2026)
Detail	What CEMC publishes
Who it is for	"Students in Grades 7 and 8." "Motivated students in lower grades are welcome to write the contest."
When	"Monday, May 10, 2027 to Friday, May 21, 2027", the same window inside and outside the Americas
Choosing the day	"Contest Supervisors are expected to administer the contest within the two-week contest period."
School ordering deadline	"Thursday, April 22, 2027"
Paper	Twenty-five questions, every one with five lettered options, in one hour, for a possible 150 marks
Where and how	At school, each student alone, either on paper or on CEMC's online platform, as the school decides
Calculators	"Some calculators permitted."
Content	Based on "math curriculum common to all Canadian provinces"; "The last few questions are designed to test ingenuity and insight."
Languages	CEMC's contest table says "These contests are available in English and French."
Fee	Five dollars per participant, ordered by the school, with a minimum order of ten contests

One booklet, two contests

The Grade 7 and Grade 8 papers are separate contests. In 2025 they were printed back to back: the Grade 7 cover said "(The Grade 8 Contest is on the reverse side)".

A student writes one of them in a school year. CEMC lists the "Grade 7 and Grade 8 Gauss Contests" among the groupings where a student can write only one, and a student working ahead may choose the higher grade but never the lower one.

Marked at school

Paper Gauss contests stay at the school: "All paper contests are marked in the school. Contest Supervisors are given a marking template in the contest package." Online writers are marked on CEMC's platform.

Results then go to the teacher, and CEMC says they are "sent to the Contest Supervisor by email in the weeks after the contest is written." Families hear the score from the school, not from CEMC.

Source: CEMC, Gauss Contests, and the CEMC contests table, read 22 October 2026. Modern Age Coders runs independent classes and is not part of, or connected with, CEMC or the University of Waterloo.

The paper

Inside a Gauss paper: three parts, all multiple choice

The cover of each 2025 Gauss booklet gave the rules a student needs to know before starting. Unlike the Grade 9 to 11 contests, every Gauss question, even the last five, has five lettered options.

Gauss rules from the covers of CEMC's 2025 Grade 7 and Grade 8 Gauss booklets (no questions reproduced)
Rule	What the 2025 cover says
Format	"This is a multiple-choice test. Each question is followed by five possible answers marked A, B, C, D, and E."
Time	"Time: 1 hour"; "you will have sixty minutes of working time"
Marks	Five for a right answer in Part A, six in Part B and eight in Part C
Wrong answers	They cost nothing: the cover states there is no penalty
Blanks	Two marks for each question left empty, counted for no more than ten of them
Parts	Part A is questions 1 to 10, Part B questions 11 to 20, Part C questions 21 to 25

What the blank rule means for a Grade 7 student

A blank earns 2 marks; a wild guess among five options is right only one time in five. Our arithmetic: a blind guess in Part A is worth 5 / 5 = 1 mark on average, less than the 2 for a blank.

So we teach younger students a simple rule: answer what you can work out, cross out options you can rule out, and only guess when you have narrowed it to two. That rule is ours, not CEMC's, and it stops counting once ten questions are blank.

Ingenuity and insight

CEMC says the last few questions "are designed to test ingenuity and insight", and that the paper leans on reasoning more than on remembered content.

In practice, a Grade 7 student meets questions near the end that no lesson has prepared them for. The skill is not knowing more math; it is trying a small case, drawing a picture, or making an organized list until a pattern shows.

Eight practice problems

Eight Gauss-style problems, with full solutions

These eight are our practice problems, not CEMC problems. Our teachers wrote them for Grade 7 and 8 students; none is copied or adapted from any Gauss paper. Like the contest, they move from Part A level to Part C level, and every one has five options. Each answer was checked in Python, and two of the checks are printed further down.

Gauss practice 1 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part A). What is the value of 2027 - 2026 + 2025 - 2024 + ... + 3 - 2 + 1? (A) 1012 (B) 1013 (C) 1014 (D) 2026 (E) 2027

How to solve it. Group the terms in pairs from the left: (2027 - 2026), (2025 - 2024), and so on down to (3 - 2). Each pair equals 1. The pairs start at 2027, 2025, ..., 3, which is 1013 odd numbers, so the pairs add to 1013. The 1 at the end is left over, so the total is 1014, answer (C). Checking with a small version, 5 - 4 + 3 - 2 + 1 = 3: two pairs and the 1, which fits.

Gauss practice 2 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part A). A pancake recipe uses 3 cups of flour for every 2 cups of milk. How many cups of flour go with 7 cups of milk? (A) 9 (B) 9.5 (C) 10 (D) 10.25 (E) 10.5

How to solve it. Flour is 3/2 times the milk, so 7 cups of milk need 7 x 3/2 = 21/2 = 10.5 cups of flour, answer (E). A quick check: 2 cups of milk go with 3 of flour, so 6 go with 9, and the extra cup of milk needs another 1.5 cups of flour.

Gauss practice 3 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part A). A jacket is marked down by 20%. Later, the sale price is marked down by a further 25%. The final price is what percent of the original price? (A) 55% (B) 60% (C) 45% (D) 65% (E) 75%

How to solve it. Pretend the original price is 100. After 20% off it is 80. Taking 25% off 80 removes 20, leaving 60, so the final price is 60% of the original, answer (B). The trap is (C), 45%, from adding 20% and 25% and subtracting from 100: the second discount is taken from a smaller price.

Gauss practice 4 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part B). A grid has 2 rows and 3 columns of unit squares. How many rectangles of any size can be traced along its lines? (Squares count as rectangles.) (A) 6 (B) 12 (C) 17 (D) 18 (E) 22

How to solve it. Every rectangle is fixed by its left and right sides and its top and bottom. The grid has 4 vertical lines, and there are 6 ways to choose two of them (list them: 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4, 3-4). It has 3 horizontal lines, with 3 ways to choose two. Each choice of sides goes with each choice of top and bottom, so there are 6 x 3 = 18 rectangles, answer (D). Counting the shapes one by one on the diagram usually gives 17: one rectangle is easy to miss.

Gauss practice 5 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part B). The three angles of a triangle are in the ratio 2 : 3 : 4. What is the size of the largest angle? (A) 60° (B) 70° (C) 75° (D) 80° (E) 90°

How to solve it. Write the angles as 2k, 3k and 4k. They add to 180°, so 9k = 180 and k = 20. The largest angle is 4k = 80°, answer (D). Check: 40 + 60 + 80 = 180.

Gauss practice 6 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part B). How many positive whole numbers less than 200 are multiples of 6 but not multiples of 4? (A) 16 (B) 17 (C) 25 (D) 33 (E) 49

How to solve it. The multiples of 6 below 200 are 6, 12, ..., 198, which is 33 numbers. A multiple of 6 is also a multiple of 4 exactly when it is a multiple of 12, and the multiples of 12 below 200 are 12, 24, ..., 192, which is 16 numbers. So 33 - 16 = 17 are multiples of 6 but not of 4, answer (B). The quick check: the multiples of 6 alternate, 6 (no), 12 (yes), 18 (no), 24 (yes), so roughly half are removed.

Gauss practice 7 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part C). Figure 1 is made of 1 square. Figure 2 adds a column of 2 squares beside it, making a staircase of 3 squares. Figure 3 adds a column of 3, making 6 squares, and so on. Which is the first figure to use more than 200 squares? (A) Figure 18 (B) Figure 19 (C) Figure 20 (D) Figure 21 (E) Figure 100

How to solve it. Figure n uses 1 + 2 + ... + n squares. Two copies of a staircase fit together into a rectangle n wide and n + 1 tall, so one staircase uses n(n + 1) / 2 squares. Figure 19 uses 19 x 20 / 2 = 190 squares and Figure 20 uses 20 x 21 / 2 = 210, so the first figure over 200 is Figure 20, answer (C). Drawing figures 1 to 4 and noticing the doubling trick is the "insight" step.

Gauss practice 8 (our practice problem, not a CEMC problem, pitched at Part C). A student climbs a staircase of 10 steps, going up either 1 step or 2 steps with each stride. In how many different ways can the student reach the top? (A) 55 (B) 64 (C) 89 (D) 100 (E) 144

How to solve it. Start small. One step can be climbed 1 way; two steps 2 ways (1 + 1 or 2); three steps 3 ways. To reach any step, the last stride came from one step below or two steps below, so the number of ways to reach a step is the sum of the ways to reach the two steps before it. That gives 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 for steps 1 to 10, so the answer is 89, (C). This is the kind of last question CEMC means by ingenuity: listing all 89 ways would take the whole hour, while the small cases take two minutes.

Doing the set like a contest

Set a timer for 18 minutes for all eight, about the pace of a real Gauss. Mark your answers with the contest marks: 5 for problems 1 to 3, 6 for 4 to 6, 8 for 7 and 8, and 2 for any blank.

Then check the solutions, and for every one you missed, write a single sentence about what you would try first next time.

The habits inside them

Pairing (problem 1), pretending a price is 100 (problem 3), choosing sides instead of counting shapes (problem 4) and starting with small cases (problems 7 and 8) all come back on real papers.

None needs math beyond Grade 8. They need the patience to organize the work, which is what Gauss is really testing.

Math meets code

Checking a Gauss answer with a few lines of Python

We are a coding and math school, and in Grades 7 and 8 the two meet naturally. Ontario's 2020 math curriculum already includes coding, so many Grade 7 and 8 students write small programs in math class. Below are two short programs of ours that check our answers by brute force. They are for practice at home, never for contest day: the contest is pencil, paper and thinking.

Checking practice problem 4 · our Python programpython

# Our check for Gauss practice problem 4 (not a CEMC problem)
# A rectangle in a 2 by 3 grid is fixed by choosing two of the
# 4 vertical grid lines and two of the 3 horizontal grid lines.
count = 0
for left in range(4):
    for right in range(left + 1, 4):
        for top in range(3):
            for bottom in range(top + 1, 3):
                count += 1
print(count)   # prints 18

The four nested loops choose a left side, a right side further along, a top and a bottom further down, exactly the reasoning in the written solution. Run it and it prints 18. Change the 4 and the 3 to count the rectangles in any other grid.

Checking practice problem 8 · our Python programpython

# Our check for Gauss practice problem 8 (not a CEMC problem)
# ways[n] = number of ways to reach step n taking 1 or 2 steps
ways = [1, 1]          # step 0 (stand still) and step 1
for step in range(2, 11):
    ways.append(ways[-1] + ways[-2])
print(ways[10])        # prints 89

The list grows by adding its last two numbers, the same rule as in the solution, and prints 89. Both programs ran under Python 3 on 22 October 2026.

Why a program helps a math student

Writing the check forces the student to say exactly what is being counted. A program that prints 17 for the rectangles is as useful as one that prints 18: it shows the counting rule was wrong.

Ontario's Grade 7 math expectations mention code with "a defined count and/or subprogram", and Grade 8 adds code that involves "the analysis of data". A brute-force check is a natural first use of both.

Where the contest draws the line

CEMC's calculator rules exclude devices holding stored programs or notes, so a program like this is a study tool, not a contest tool. On the day, the paper rewards the reasoning.

Students who enjoy this side can also try CEMC's Beaver Computing Challenge, whose questions, CEMC says, "only require familiarity with concepts covered in the mathematics curriculum".

2026 results

What Gauss 2026 scores looked like, by CEMC's mark bands

CEMC's 2026 Gauss results booklet groups scores into bands for each grade. CEMC adds a caveat that matters: the statistics cover online writers and paper schools that sent results through CEMC's results form, so they "do not represent all contest participants."

Gauss 2026 mark bands, from CEMC's 2026 Gauss Results booklet (statistics for represented students only)
Marks out of 150	Grade 7: students (approx. %)	Grade 8: students (approx. %)
136 to 150	527 (2.19%)	721 (3.49%)
121 to 135	1488 (6.17%)	1541 (7.45%)
106 to 120	3032 (12.58%)	2573 (12.45%)
91 to 105	5708 (23.68%)	4866 (23.54%)
76 to 90	5925 (24.58%)	5072 (24.53%)
61 to 75	4124 (17.11%)	3306 (15.99%)
60 and below	2556 (10.60%)	2095 (10.13%)
Average	85.3	87.4
Schools and students represented	1433 schools, 24102 students	1286 schools, 20675 students

Our reading, labelled as ours. The busiest band in both grades was 76 to 90 marks, with 91 to 105 close behind. The top band, 136 to 150, held only 2.19% of represented Grade 7 writers and 3.49% of Grade 8 writers, so a near-perfect Gauss is genuinely rare. A Grade 7 student who scores in the 90s on a first Gauss has done what most of the country's writers did, and that is a sound start. CEMC prints the total number of students represented across both grades as 44777.

Students registered for the 2026 Gauss Contests by province and territory, from CEMC's 2026 Gauss Results booklet
Where	Students registered
Ontario	43271
British Columbia	12072
Alberta	6756
Quebec	3524
Nova Scotia	2030
Manitoba	1607
New Brunswick	601
Prince Edward Island	279
Saskatchewan	181
Newfoundland and Labrador	132
Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	45, 35 and 10
Outside Canada	8869
Total, as CEMC prints it	79412

Source: CEMC's 2026 Gauss Results booklet, linked from the Gauss page, read 22 October 2026. The registered total and the represented total are CEMC's own figures for different groups, and we have not combined or compared them.

Certificates

Gauss certificates: what each one means

Gauss awards are mostly decided within each school, which surprises families used to national rankings. CEMC lists three certificates and no team competition.

Gauss awards, as listed on CEMC's Gauss page (read 22 October 2026)
Award	Who receives it, in CEMC's words
Certificate of Participation	"A Certificate of Participation is provided for each participant."
Certificate of Distinction	Each participant "scoring in the top 25% of all participants within their own school, for schools with at least 4 participants"
Certificate of Outstanding Achievement	"the highest achieving participant in their school on each of the Grade 7 and 8 Contests, for schools with at least 10 participants"
Team awards	"There is no Team Competition for these contests."

Reading a certificate fairly

Because the Distinction certificate is the top quarter within one school, the score it takes depends on the school. In a school with many strong writers it is harder to earn; in a small group it may be easier.

That is a reason to look at the score itself, and at what the student tried, rather than only at the certificate.

What CEMC says the contest is for

CEMC states that "the goal of our contests is to increase curiosity and foster problem solving skills among participants." It adds that nobody passes or fails one of its contests.

We take that seriously in our Gauss classes. The aim is a student who enjoys a hard question, not one who is anxious about a certificate.

Entry

How a Grade 7 or 8 student enters the Gauss

CEMC accepts entries only from schools, so a family cannot sign a child up directly. Gauss adds one practical detail: a school order must be for at least ten contests.

Ask the class teacher or the school's math lead in the winter. Not every school orders CEMC contests, so the first step is finding out whether yours will.
Mention the ten-contest minimum. Because CEMC asks for "a minimum order requirement of 10 contests", a teacher may want to gather a group. A family offering to find interested classmates can make the order easier.
New schools need an account. A school that has never ordered applies for a CEMC school account, which CEMC reviews by hand over as long as three weeks, before the Thursday, April 22, 2027 deadline.
If your school declines, CEMC suggests asking another nearby school whether your child may write with them.
Online writers can rehearse. CEMC says "The Gauss Online Practice Contest will be available in April", using questions from the previous year's contests.

We prepare students; we cannot enter them or run the sitting, which always happens at the school. CEMC's full process is on its How contests work page.

The plan

A plan from January to the May 2027 Gauss window

Our plan for a Grade 7 or 8 student who starts in January 2027 and writes in the 10 to 21 May window. Students who start in November simply have more time on the first term. It assumes two live classes a week.

January and February 2027

Number sense and Part A speed: fractions, decimals, percent, ratio and order of operations, with pairing and "pretend it is 100" tricks. Our problems 1 to 3. One untimed past Gauss each month.

March 2027

Geometry and measurement: angles, area, perimeter and simple 3-D shapes, always with a drawing. Our problem 5. Part B questions from past papers, timed at three minutes each.

April 2027

Counting and patterns: organized lists, choosing sides and corners, small cases first. Our problems 4, 6, 7 and 8, and the two Python checks. Online writers try the Gauss Online Practice Contest.

By Thursday, April 22, 2027: confirm with the school that its order is in.
The week before the school's day: two full 60-minute past papers in contest conditions, each marked with 5, 6, 8 and blank-2, then reviewed question by question.
Contest week, between Monday 10 and Friday 21 May 2027: nothing new, an early night, and then the paper itself, at school, on whichever day the teacher has picked.

Grade 6, writing early

CEMC welcomes motivated younger students. Aim for Part A and a few Part B questions; the habits matter more than the score.

Grade 7, first contest

The full plan. A strong first Gauss finishes Part A cleanly and makes real attempts at Part B.

Grade 8, second Gauss

Start from last year's mistakes. The target is Part C, where the 8-mark questions are.

The Grade 7 and 8 year

Gauss among CEMC's activities for Grades 7 and 8

Gauss is the main individual math contest CEMC offers in Grades 7 and 8, but not the only activity. The table is from CEMC's pages and our facts file; the advice column is ours.

CEMC activities open to Grade 7 and 8 students in 2026 to 2027 (Americas dates, read 22 October 2026)
Activity	When	What CEMC says	Our advice
Beaver Computing Challenge, Grade 7/8	Monday, November 9 to Friday, November 20, 2026	For students in "Grade 8 or below"; 15 multiple-choice questions out of 90 in 45 minutes; the questions "only require familiarity with concepts covered in the mathematics curriculum"	A gentle first contest for a student who likes puzzles and code
Gauss Contests	Monday, May 10 to Friday, May 21, 2027	25 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes, out of 150	The main event of the year for a Grade 7 or 8 math student
Team Up Challenge	Tuesday, June 1, 2027 or later	A collaborative resource for "Grades 6 to 8", with four students working together	A good end-of-year group activity if the teacher orders it
Pascal Contest (in Grade 9)	February of the Grade 9 year	CEMC opens Pascal to Grade 9 students, and to keen younger ones	The next step: same shape as Gauss, high school math

A Grade 8 student who enjoys Gauss will find the Grade 9 Pascal Contest familiar: twenty-five questions, sixty minutes, the same marking and the same blank rule on the 2025 papers. The big change is Part C, where Pascal asks for a whole number instead of a letter. Our CEMC contests overview sets out every contest from Gauss to Euclid.

Free practice

Past Gauss papers and the Problem Set Generator

CEMC gives away a decade of old Gauss papers with solutions, and a tool that builds new practice sets from them. We send students to the originals and never copy them onto our pages.

Past papers

CEMC's past contests page has Gauss papers, solutions and results by year, filtered by grade. A Grade 7 student should practise on Grade 7 papers first, then try a Grade 8 paper for stretch.

We use one untimed paper a month from January, then two timed ones just before the school's chosen day.

Problem Set Generator

The Problem Set Generator builds sets from "past Gauss, Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat Contests", by topic or as a mock paper.

It is ideal for a weak spot: a student who keeps missing geometry questions can ask for Part A geometry from past Gauss papers and do a set in twenty minutes.

Our one rule with any past paper: try every question properly before opening the solution, and afterwards explain the official solution in your own words. The CEMC Courseware covers the school math behind the questions, lesson by lesson, if a gap shows up.

Where a student starts

Four steps from school math to a strong Gauss

The four rungs our teachers use to place a Grade 7 or 8 student on day one.

Gauss readiness (ours)
Step	What it looks like
1. Calculator habit	Reaches for the calculator first and has not seen a contest question
2. Number confident	Does fractions, percent and ratio in their head and finishes Part A
3. Picture drawer	Draws, lists and tries small cases on Part B without being told to
4. Pattern spotter	Finds the trick in some Part C questions, like the staircase or the pairs

For parents

Most Grade 7 students start at step 1 or 2. Moving to step 3 is the biggest change, and it comes from practice with a teacher who asks "what could you draw?"

Gauss is a good first contest because it is low-stakes. Treat the result as information, not a verdict.

For students

If a question looks too big, make it smaller: 10 steps becomes 3 steps, 2027 becomes 5.

Draw something for every geometry question, even a rough sketch.

More courses

Nine courses for a Grade 7 or 8 student

Live online classes with a regular teacher, in a small group or one to one, for students in every province and territory.

Math foundations

Grades 5 to 8

GCP / BASE / 01

Algebra foundations

Pre-algebra and equations, ready for Grade 9.

Open the syllabus

GCP / BASE / 02

Mental math

Number sense without tricks, for younger students.

Open the syllabus

GCP / BASE / 03

Elementary math

For younger siblings in Grades 1 to 5.

Open the syllabus

Problem solving

Contest habits

GCP / STEP / 01

Problem solving and computational thinking

Logic and patterns, with and without code.

Open the syllabus

GCP / STEP / 02

Math through coding

Check a count with Python, as on this page.

Open the syllabus

GCP / STEP / 03

Competition mathematics

For strong Grade 8 students heading for Pascal.

Open the syllabus

III

Coding

Ages 9 to 14

GCP / CODE / 01

Python for kids

First real programs, games and turtle art.

Open the syllabus

GCP / CODE / 02

C++ for kids

A first compiled language, puzzles included.

Open the syllabus

GCP / CODE / 03

Python for teens

For Grade 8 students ready for more.

Open the syllabus

Class format

How live Gauss classes work for Grades 7 and 8

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Weekdays

After-school groups, set in Eastern time and shown in yours.

Weekends

Weekend morning classes, away from homework nights.

1-on-1

At a time that suits the family, planned to the May window.

Problems we write

Fresh Gauss-style sets every week, beside CEMC's papers.

Draw, list, try small

The three habits taught in every class.

Math and code

Short Python checks for students who enjoy them.

Timed papers in May

Two full papers before the school's chosen day.

Every province

Grade 7 and 8 students from across Canada.

Group or private

A group of fifteen to twenty, or one to one.

Student work

What our younger students build

Our Grade 7 and 8 students code as well as solve. A few of their projects are below; the student labs page has more.

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

The school pays CEMC for the contest itself. Our fee is for the classes only, charged each month, and ends whenever you say, the May 2027 window included.

Free first class

Free

no card required

A free first class
Three Gauss-style questions together
No card needed

Book it

Group batch

$100 USD

a month, eight live classes

A group of fifteen to twenty
Grades 7 and 8 together
Choose a batch time
Monthly billing

Start here

One to one

$150 USD

a month, eight live classes

One student, one teacher
Planned to the May window
Built around your child's pace

Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Parents' words from Google reviews, as they wrote them.

★★★★★

"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."

Ria Mukherjee

Parent

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."

Samriddha Mondal

Student

★★★★★

"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."

Vansh Agarwal

Student

★★★★★

"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."

Sonam Oswal

Parent of Dhairya

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."

Sonu Goyal

Parent

★★★★★

"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."

Ritu Kedia

Parent

Grade 7 and 8 families ask

Gauss Contest: frequently asked

What is the Gauss Contest?

The Gauss Contests are CEMC's math contests for Grades 7 and 8, from the University of Waterloo. There is one paper for each grade, each with 25 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes and a score out of 150.

When is the Gauss Contest in 2027?

CEMC lists a window from Monday, May 10, 2027 to Friday, May 21, 2027, the same inside and outside the Americas. Each school runs it on a day it chooses within those two weeks, and must order by Thursday, April 22, 2027.

Can a Grade 6 student write the Gauss?

Yes. Younger students who are keen may write too, CEMC says. A student writes one Gauss paper per school year, and may choose a higher grade's paper but not a lower one.

How is the Gauss Contest scored?

Going by the 2025 covers: 5 marks a question in Part A, 6 in Part B, 8 in Part C, nothing taken off for errors, and 2 marks for each blank up to ten blanks. All 25 questions had five lettered options.

Who marks the Gauss Contest?

Paper contests are marked at the school using a marking template from CEMC; online contests are marked on CEMC's platform. CEMC emails the results to the school's contest supervisor in the weeks after the contest.

What certificates can a Gauss student earn?

CEMC gives every participant a Certificate of Participation. The top 25 percent within each school, in schools with at least 4 participants, receive a Certificate of Distinction, and the top scorer on each grade's contest in schools with at least 10 participants receives a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement.

What was the Gauss average in 2026?

CEMC's 2026 results booklet gives an average of 85.3 for Grade 7 and 87.4 for Grade 8, out of 150. CEMC notes these figures cover only the students whose results it received, not every participant.

How does my child enter the Gauss?

Only through the school: CEMC takes orders from schools, never from families, and a Gauss order must cover at least ten contests. If the school declines, ask a nearby school whether your child can write there.

Where can we find past Gauss papers?

On CEMC's past contests page, free, with solutions, and through CEMC's Problem Set Generator, which builds practice sets from past Gauss questions. Our own practice problems are written by our teachers.

When are your Gauss classes?

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays. We arrange times in Eastern time and show each family the time in its own province.

Also on this site

More for Canadian families with a Grade 7 or 8 student who likes math or code.

CEMC Waterloo contests

Every CEMC math contest from Gauss to Euclid.

Online math tutor, Canada

Help with the school course itself.

Coding classes in Canada

Our main page for Canadian families.

CCC Junior guide

CEMC's programming contest, for later grades.

Middle school math competitions

Other contests at this age.

Grade 7 math tutoring

Grade 7 math, one topic at a time.

Grade 8 math tutoring

Grade 8 math, ready for high school.

MATHCOUNTS preparation

The American middle school contest.

Coding or math?

For students who enjoy both.

Start here

Book a free first class

The first class works through three Gauss-style questions we wrote, with the teacher asking your child to draw, list and try small cases. Afterwards you hear which of the four steps they are on and how we would use the months to May 2027.

Want to see more first? Read how we teach, or browse the full list of courses.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · connect@modernagecoders.com

Classes are live on video with teachers based in India, so nobody needs to travel. For the quickest reply from anywhere in Canada, message us on WhatsApp.

Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo

A priority demo is a full class of about 45 to 60 minutes. After the class the mentor sends a written skill report and a personal learning roadmap on WhatsApp. If you enrol, the demo fee is adjusted against your first month's fee. Share your demo Order ID with us on WhatsApp and we take it off.

Three courses for a Gauss student

Waterloo Math Contests: Gauss to Euclid

Middle school math competitions

Middle school math

The 2027 Gauss window, and what makes Gauss different

One booklet, two contests

Marked at school

Inside a Gauss paper: three parts, all multiple choice

What the blank rule means for a Grade 7 student

Ingenuity and insight

Eight Gauss-style problems, with full solutions

Doing the set like a contest

The habits inside them

Checking a Gauss answer with a few lines of Python

Why a program helps a math student

Where the contest draws the line

What Gauss 2026 scores looked like, by CEMC's mark bands

Gauss certificates: what each one means

Reading a certificate fairly

What CEMC says the contest is for

How a Grade 7 or 8 student enters the Gauss

A plan from January to the May 2027 Gauss window

January and February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

Grade 6, writing early

Grade 7, first contest

Grade 8, second Gauss

Gauss among CEMC's activities for Grades 7 and 8

Past Gauss papers and the Problem Set Generator

Past papers

Problem Set Generator

Four steps from school math to a strong Gauss

For parents

For students

Nine courses for a Grade 7 or 8 student

Math foundations

Algebra foundations

Mental math

Elementary math

Problem solving

Problem solving and computational thinking

Math through coding

Competition mathematics

Coding

Python for kids

C++ for kids

Python for teens

How live Gauss classes work for Grades 7 and 8

Problems we write

Draw, list, try small

Math and code

Timed papers in May

Every province

Group or private

What our younger students build

NutriLife

Misti

GuardianX

SkyCast

Fees

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Gauss Contest: frequently asked

What is the Gauss Contest?

When is the Gauss Contest in 2027?

Can a Grade 6 student write the Gauss?

How is the Gauss Contest scored?

Who marks the Gauss Contest?

What certificates can a Gauss student earn?

What was the Gauss average in 2026?

How does my child enter the Gauss?

Where can we find past Gauss papers?

When are your Gauss classes?

Related pages

Book a free first class

Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo

Keep exploring Modern Age Coders

Related courses and guides

Learn more

Free resources