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Verdict of the 22nd Kangaroo Story Contest (2026)

The jury of the twenty-second Kangaroo Story Contest has analyzed and evaluated the stories submitted to the contest and has agreed:

• That a first prize and an honorable mention be awarded:
  • The first prize corresponds to the story stored with the password BV95JWB and submitted under the motto «Metallic Mathematics», which belongs to the group of stories sent by high school students.
  • The honorable mention corresponds to the story stored with the password GX72QVE and submitted under the motto «Life of Math», which belongs to the group of secondary school students
• That, in due course, in addition to the above, the stories with passwords EW81TDB (high school) and BT56YDE (secondary school) be published on the website as featured stories.

Barcelona, May 20, 2026

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From the contest coordination, after analyzing the database, we can announce the authorship of these stories.

• First prize
  The password BV95JWB corresponds to the story submitted under the title Metallic Mathematics, authored by Arun Pallejà Buddavarapu, a 2nd-year high school student at Institut Gabriel Ferrater i Soler, in Reus. Link to read the story
• Honorable mention
  The password GX72QVE corresponds to the story submitted under the title Life of Math, authored by Jihad Akhdim Laakel, a 3rd-year secondary school student at Institut Montserrat Roig, in Terrassa. Link to read the story
  

The two stories that the jury recommends for publication on the website are:

• • BT56YDE. Story title: The Theorem That Saved Dinner. Author: Rita Navas Also, a 3rd-year secondary school student at Institut Montserrat Roig, in Terrassa.  To read the story
  • EW81TDB, Story title: Queue Addicts: Welcome to the Hilbert Hotel. Author: Quel Càrdaba i Torné, a 1st-year high school student at Institut Olivar Gran, in Figueres. To read the story

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Rules of the 22nd Kangaroo Story Contest (2026)

1. Students in 3rd or 4th year of secondary school, vocational training cycles, or high school within the geographical scope where the SCM Kangaroo is held (in its three parallel editions) may participate in this contest.
2. Participation will preferably be individual. Exceptionally, a collectively authored story may be accepted.
3. Each participant may only submit one story to the contest.
4. The theme of the submitted stories must be related to the world of mathematics.
5. The stories must be written in the language of the lands where people say «Good morning!».
6. The stories must be original, written specifically for this contest. They cannot be recreations or adaptations of previous stories, either by the person submitting the story or by others.
7. The stories must be submitted in .pdf format, and should preferably be between four and eight pages long (each page approximately thirty lines with twelve-point font). The corresponding document must include a motto (which may be the same as the title) and must not contain any personal data of the author or authors of the story.
8. The deadline for submitting originals ends on Saint George's Day 2026.
9. Link to the form for submitting stories for the 2026 story contest.
10. The jury, appointed by the SCM, will evaluate the works taking into account literary and formal quality (style and narrative clarity), the originality of the story, and especially how the mathematical aspect has been handled and the contribution of information.
11. In due course, the verdict of the contest will be made public on this website, which is expected to award a first prize (which may be declared void) and will consider the possibility of giving some honorable mentions, preferably distributed diversely among students from the second cycle of secondary school and high school or vocational training students (and it may also happen that there are no honorable mentions).
12. The prizes will be distributed at the solemn award ceremony of the Kangaroo and other SCM activities aimed at secondary school students.
13. Individuals who submit a story to this contest, or their legal guardians if applicable, authorize the publication of the submitted works on the Kangaroo website or other SCM publications (online or in print), stating the name of the author, and grant indefinite usage rights to the SCM.
14. The jury will interpret the rules in case of doubt and its decisions are final.

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