BMO1 Advice?

Hi all,

I was looking to get better at BMO1, possibly get into BMO2 or further. I shouldn't have a problem getting into BMO1.
Does anyone have any advice on how to prepare? I've been practicing but I get stuck on question 2 sometimes.
Has anyone who has gotten further have any tips on how to get better for bmo? Thanks!

Practice & reflection about what you get wrong/cant do/alternative ways to solve the problem are the usual ways. Do you need to improve across the board or are geometry/algebra/... problem areas? Do you discuss your solutions with anyone? Have you done previous intermediate olympiads?

There are a couple of bmo1 ukmt books - older one by tony gardiner and newer one by geoff smith and they have an introductory chapter about geometry//algebra/number theory/... then a lot of past questions with worked solutions/discussions. Similarly drfrost has some slides which cover the different topic areas in his reimann zeta club. However, there is little "new" maths compared to the smc say.

Hi, thanks for your quick response!

I'd say geometry is my worst bit, but yes I do need to improve overall. I bought the BMO1 book, and I've been going through it, but I can't see a lot of progress. Am I not going about it in the right way? Would you recommend any specific methods?

I don't have anyone to discuss my solutions with; I don't know anyone who is at this level of mathematics. I've done Olympiads such as Hamilton and MacLaurin, for which I both got distinctions. I also got a distinction in the MOG, and was a few points off BMO1. But I did it a year early, so hopefully this year I should be able to get through via SMC.

I've been practicing Senior Kangaroo as a stepping stone to BMO, but it's relatively easy and therefore not a useful bridge.

Thanks again.