The Bebras Competition is a global challenge for students of all ages, promoting problem-solving and computer science interest. Participants tackle interactive problems that enhance creative thinking and computational skills. This competition introduces fundamental computer science concepts and is crucial for developing problem-solving abilities worldwide. 

Students at KES participated in the competition back in December, those students that were in the top 10% went through to the next round.  66 of our students at KES were successful and were invited to participate in The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC). 

OUCC is a yearly programming competition hosted by the University of Oxford. It involves problems that test students' problem-solving and programming skills. The challenge is open to students of different ages, providing a chance for them to showcase their abilities and develop an interest in computer science. The competition aims to inspire and challenge participants, contributing to the growth of their computational skills and fostering a passion for the field. 

The following students participated in the OUCC challenge this year. In Year 7, Ralph C, Tom D, Ethan F, Oliver, Hinsen, Seb R, Haochen S, Sam W, Harry W, Eli Y and Olena Z.   

In Year 8, Aditi A, Joseph Mc, Charlotte G and Oliver S.   

In Year 9 Luca B, Nathan B, Oleg B, Matthew C, Felix C, Hayden G, Joshua Mc, Hera O, Isaac R, Arun R.  The aim was, try to be one of the top 20 students in the whole of the UK to get the 2nd round. 

Competition was very high as there were 6404 participants for the Year 7 students and 9734 participants in the Year 8 and 9. 

To achieve a Merit students had to achieve 25 or more points, and Distinction pupils had to achieve 40 or more points.  To get to the next round you had to achieve 54 points out of a total of 66 in Year 7 and 56 in Year 8/9.   

We would like to congratulate Haochen who has qualified for the next round.  Only the top 20 students in the country have qualified for the next round, this is such an accolade, and we are so proud of Haochen and wish him all the best in the next round which takes place on the 5th of March. 

Furthermore, Seb R and Josh Mc – were awarded Merits in their categories for their truly amazing efforts.   

We would like to congratulate all the participants in the competition on their algorithmic brilliance and an insatiable thirst for problem-solving.  And to Haochen, where the journey ahead may have its bugs, but with your debugging skills and computational wizardry, we're confident you'll crush every algorithmic challenge in your path!