LOCAL and foreign schools are going head-to-head in Singapore's first International Mathematics Challenge, which kicked off on Tuesday.

The week-long event, running from 20 to 24 May, will involve 171 students and 39 educators from local schools as well as foreign schools globally.

The theme 'Experior. Expono. Excedo' ('Experience. Expound. Exceed').

Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Education and National University of Singapore High School and Mathematics and Science (NUS High School), the event aims to nurture and develop excellence in the subject.

MOE and NUS High School said in a statement on Tuesday they hope the event will encourage 'young talents to engage in their passion for mathematics and to spur them to further expand on and develop their skills and competencies'.

A total of 57 teams will compete against each other in a series of mathematical modelling challenges that need them to creatively apply mathematics concepts and methods.

Educators from participating schools will also have the opportunity to glean new insights on a variety of subjects, from pedagogy to the integration of IT in schools today, in a series of symposiums and workshops.