UK Bebras

 

About the OUCC

The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) is an invitation only event designed for students who have achieved a top 10% score in the UK Bebras Challenge. Its goal is to further develop their skills and encourage them to produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems.

The challenge begins with an online first round, supervised by teachers in schools, spanning a week in January. Participants' solutions are automatically marked by our system. Following the completion of the first round, the top 20 students in each category are invited to take part in a final round. This final round is conducted online on a single day in March under examination conditions.

Every student who participates in the final receives a finalist's certificate. The top three students from each age group in the UK are invited to a prize-giving ceremony later in the school year.

2023 Prize winners at Raspberry Pi HQ, Cambridge

Age groups

The OUCC is available for the following age groups:

	England & Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
Juniors (age 10-12)	Years 6 & 7	P6 & P7	Years 7 & 8
Intermediates (age 12-14)	Years 8 & 9	S1 & S2	Years 9 & 10
Seniors (age 14-16)	Years 10 & 11	S3 & S4	Years 11 & 12
Elite (age 16-19)	Years 12 & 13	S5 & S6	Years 13 & 14
SVI (age 10-14)	Years 6 - 9	P6 - S2	Years 7 - 10

How do students enter?

Participation in the OUCC is by invitation only. Students who achieve a top 10% score in the UK Bebras Challenge will receive an invitation to participate. School coordinators will be notified via email of the students' success, and this information can also be accessed in the admin section of the site.

How much does it cost to participate?

Supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and the University of Oxford, the OUCC is entirely free to enter. We kindly ask that you provide as much information as possible when requested, to help us in evaluating the impact of our efforts.

What programming languages can be used?

Juniors and Intermediates. All tasks will use the Blockly programming language. Comprehensive learning resources are available on the site to introduce your students to Blockly.

Seniors Elite and SVI. All tasks require the use of a text-based programming language. Supported languages include Python, C#, Java, and VB (view full list here). Students are permitted to use the documentation or tool tips built into their Integrated Development Environment (IDE). However, they are strictly prohibited from searching the internet or using other applications during the Challenge. It's crucial that students refrain from using AI assistants or code generation tools, ensuring that all participants are evaluated based on their own coding skills. For further details, please refer to the challenge rules.

Are there prizes?

Every student who participates in the final receives a finalist's certificate. Additionally, the top three participants from each age group in the UK are invited to attend a prize-giving ceremony later in the school year.

Are the answers provided?

Yes, following each official challenge, a booklet containing model answers and explanations for each task is made available. These resources can be downloaded from the Documents section of the admin site.

How do students prepare?

For guidance on preparing for the challenge, please visit the prepare page. We recommend that all students practice to familiarise themselves with the task formats. For students in the Senior and Elite age groups, it is crucuial that they are familiar with receiving input and producing output in the correct format for automated marking.

It's worth noting that solving all tasks within the allotted time is a rare achievement. The competition is intentionally designed to present a challenging experience.

Countries

OUCC is currently available in these countries. By clicking on the country flag you will get its national OUCC site.

Australia (2023: 810 participants)

China (2021: 654 participants)

Jamaica (2021: 382 participants)

United Kingdom (2023: 20,081 participants)