Young computer scientists are country’s top problem solvers for fifth successive year

A group of 47 young computer scientists have demonstrated exceptional computational thinking skills that rank them in the top 10% of problem solvers in the country.

The students took part in the internationally acclaimed Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge that tested their problem solving skills.  Alfie Maude (Year 7), Natasha Thornton (Year 8), Edwin Carr (Year 9), George Williams (Year 10), Harold Raven (Year 11), James Slater (Year 12) and Adam Dixon (Year 13) were rewarded with top honours in their year groups, having applied their ultra-sharp logic and observational skills to crack a series of puzzles and codes. Alfie, Edwin, Harold and Adam also achieved the highest marks in the school for the competition categories of Junior, Inter, Senior and Elite. All 47 students who are in the top 10% nationally have qualified for the Oxford University Computing Challenge which takes place later in the year.

Harold Raven has taken part in each Bebras challenge that the school has entered and has come top in his category and year group for five consecutive years – an amazing achievement that didn’t come as a surprise to his teacher, Susan Thornton, who said: “Harold has an incredible appreciation of Computer Science and his problem-solving skills are outstanding.”

Supported and sponsored by The University of Oxford and Raspberry Pi Foundation, the event, now in its 9th year, reaches over 2.5 million students across the globe. The computational thinking challenge involves applying a set of problem-solving techniques that are used by software engineers to write programs and apps. The competition promotes these skills including the ability to break down complex tasks into simpler components, algorithm design and pattern recognition and abstraction.

Susan Thornton, Lead Teacher for IT and Computer Science, concluded: “The Bebras competition has been cleverly designed to get students excited about computing by exploring their talents and passion for computational thinking with engaging challenges.  It is a fantastic event that’s inclusive and accessible and offers all students a taste of the principles behind computing by engaging them in fun problem-solving activities.  Once again, our students have excelled and their achievements are most impressive, I am so proud of them.”