Pupils of all ages have recently taken part in the UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. A national competition, students from different schools across the country competed in the event, which is run by the University of Oxford. The contest is designed to get students excited about computing and computational thinking, raising awareness of the subject in a fun and rewarding way. Skills such as problem-solving are challenged, and techniques that software engineers use to write programs and apps are used to tackle a set of tasks, breaking down complex tasks into simpler components, working on algorithm design, pattern recognition, pattern generalisation and abstraction.
All pupils from Years 7-9 were invited to take part, as well as those studying Computing at a higher level. A main competition had already been held across the UK, and only those who were successful in this were invited to participate in the Bebras finals. Lessons in coding have proved increasingly popular; a vital skill to have as we move towards an ever-more technical world, the subject has seen more and more pupils choosing to study it, and such national competitions provide the ideal platform for those with a keen interest to test their intellect against peers. The competition is split across age groups, and each age group receive a 40 minute online test to complete.
Having done exceedingly well in the main competition, the invitation to take part in the finals was cause for great excitement. Over 56,600 pupils nationwide tried their hand at the perplexing puzzle. Over 14,000 pupils in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland took part in the Juniors category, which covered 10-12 year olds. Of these thousands, only 20 pupils achieved the top grade- and Shiplake’s very own Jamie Liu was one of them! Achieving full marks in the tough competition, Jamie is one of a small number of pupils now listed on the Bebras website’s ‘Hall of Fame’, celebrating the fantastic achievement of 100% in the test. Jamie is awarded with a Certificate of Distinction for the achievement, having battled through the tricky problems in the allotted time. Congratulations to all Shiplake pupils who took part in the prestigious contest!
