Another year of resounding success for Epsom’s computer scientists in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge 2021. 440 pupils in all year groups participated in a national problem-solving competition that tested their computational thinking, decomposition, algorithms, and problem-solving skills. 85 students in all year groups qualified in the top 10% in the country – they achieved a Gold Award. A pleasing increase of 15% from last year.
The puzzles students were asked to solve have been getting more challenging every year, and this year’s included applications of complex computer science concepts. However, students did not need to be familiar with these concepts, all they needed was sharp problem-solving skills, excellent observation skills, some pattern matching from Maths, but most of all enthusiasm and determination.
The University of Oxford and Raspberry Pi Foundation have continued to kindly support and sponsor this event, and hope to provide a face-to-face finals event in 2022, if restrictions allow.
Congratulations to all pupils who gained a certificate, but also to everyone who participated. We look forward to seeing even more success stories from the Oxford Challenge in February, The Braben Cup team coding challenge in January, and the British Informatics Olympiad next week.
Well done to the Best in School certificate winners as follows:
- Junior (Third Form): Isobel Chaudhuri
- Intermediate (Lower Fourth and Middle Fourth): Freddie Carty
- Senior (Upper Fourth and Fifth Form): Rory Mathers
- Elite (Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth): Gabriela Lee
Finally, after collating all scores and filtering by House, based on the average score out of 200, results are as follows. Congratulations to the winning houses:
Senior School:
- Granville – 113 points
- Holman – 109 points
- White – 106 points
Lower School:
- Glyn Hughes – 109 points
- Hutchinson – 107 points
View Intermediate certificates
