2026-10-22 — Competitions and Education Briefing
Ireland
NCCA Seeks Feedback on Draft Leaving Certificate Mathematics Courses
Ireland’s National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has published a new consultation notice covering draft Higher, Ordinary and Foundation Level Leaving Certificate Mathematics specifications. The NCCA is conducting school visits and focus groups with students, teachers and school leaders, while individuals can respond through an online survey. Organisations may submit written feedback. The consultation closes at 5:00 p.m. on 18 November 2026, and the responses will inform the next stage of curriculum development. Official consultation
United Kingdom
England Accepts All 27 Recommendations from School Antisemitism Review
The UK government has accepted all 27 recommendations from Sir David Bell’s independent review of antisemitism in schools and colleges in England. Planned measures include specialist training for education leaders and safeguarding staff, strengthened safeguarding and political-impartiality guidance, improved incident reporting and additional support for affected pupils. The review reports that three in five Jewish pupils aged 16–19 had experienced or witnessed antisemitism. An implementation group will oversee the response, with progress reviewed after one year. Government announcement | Independent review
United States
Teachers Average Eight Hours a Week Supporting Student Well-Being
A new RAND report finds that US public-school teachers spend an average of approximately eight hours each week providing behavioural or mental-health support—about 17% of their working time. The nationally representative survey covered 829 K–12 teachers in early 2026. Nearly all respondents provided at least one form of support, while half said doing so had become harder since autumn 2024. RAND recommends stronger connections between schools, counsellors, social workers and community services, alongside more adolescent-specific resources for secondary teachers. RAND report announcement
Minnesota School Coalition Wins 2026 PACK Challenge
PMMI has announced the Becker High School and Legacy Christian Academy coalition as the 2026 PACK Challenge’s Overall Best in Show winner. Six US high-school finalist teams designed, built and demonstrated working palletising systems for the PACK N STACK engineering brief. The Minnesota coalition received the $9,000 first prize and also won the Factory Acceptance Test award. Waterford Union High School placed second, while Sartell High School finished third. Participating schools will retain their machines for continued classroom use. Official results
International School Competitions
ITYM Updates Problem Release and Registration Timeline
The International Tournament of Young Mathematicians’ official schedule now lists 27 October 2026 for publication of the 2027 research problems and 31 October at 22:00 Armenia time as the registration deadline. The worldwide competition accepts teams of four to six high-school or first-year undergraduate students, accompanied by one or two adult leaders; it is not an individual-entry event. The tournament will run from 24–31 January 2027 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, with online participation available to teams unable to travel. Official tournament schedule