The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC)

Organized by the Oxford University

Advanced selection for The British Informatics Olympiad

Four difficult levels: Elite, Seniors, Intermediates and Juniors

Suitable for Grade1-Grade12 students

No requirements for programming language in junior and intermediate levels

Date: 7th May 2023, 14:00pm-15:00pm (60 minutes, online)

Introduction

The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) is an invitation event which aims to encourage students to develop their skills further and produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems. The pilot challenge attracted nearly 10,000 British participants. OUCC is divided into four levels based on difficulty, namely, Elementary, Intermediate, Seniors and Elite, corresponding to elementary, middle and high schools respectively. Officially Website: https://oucc.uk

The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) , along with British Informatics Olympiad (BIO), stands as part of the United Kingdom Computational Thinking Challenges (UKCT Challenges) . In the UK, the best OUCC students will be invited to sit for the British Informatics Olympiad (BIO). Officially Website: https://ukctchallenges.org

Challenge Rules

Language

Junior: Chinese & English
Intermediate: Chinese & English
Senior: English
Elite: English

Consist
  • Preliminary: round 1
  • Final: round 2 (Award winners in China)
Date
  • Preliminary: 7th May 2023 (Sunday), 14:00pm-15:00pm
  • Final:24th June 2023
Locations

Online (exam computer or phone must be equipped with a camera)

Age groups

Junior: Grade 1 - 6
Intermediate: Grade 7 - 8
Senior: Grade 9 - 10
Elite: Grade 11 - 12
Note: Experienced lower grade students can choose higher level contest.

Programming Languages

Some sections tasks will require participants to be familiar with the Blockly programming language. Other tasks will allow students to program in any programming language using any IDE available on their computers.

Students can use documentation or tool tips that are built in to their IDE but they may not look up documentation on the internet, search the internet in any way, or use other applications whilst participating in the Challenge.

Content
  • Section 1-A: 5 tasks to solve that test understanding of syllabus area one in a fairly straightforward way.
    (4 points each)
  • Section 2-B: 5 tasks testing understanding of more than one syllabus area one skill. These tasks may, in addition, require the application of the Computational Thinking skills outlined in syllabus area two.
    (6 points each)
  • Section 3-C: 2 longer problems that test programming skills and the computational thinking skills outlined in syllabus area two.
    (8 points each)
Interpreting your score:

20+ points: Good – You have the basics covered.
30+ points: Excellent – You need to have solved more than half of the 12 tasks.
50+ points: Fantastic – 10 out of 12 problems need to be solved to achieve this.
66 points: Outstanding. This is the maximum possible score!

National awards

Reward by different levels
•Perfect Score: Students with perfect score
•High Distinction: Top 10%
•Distinction：Top 25%
•Merit: Top 50%

Final（round 2）

Qualification: Award winners in China；
Date: June 24th, 2023
Locations: Online
Content: Consistent with the preliminary
Fee: 350RMB

The OUCC Syllabus

Syllabus Area One:

Syllabus Area One:

●Strings, Output and Input ●Mathematical and Logical Operators ●Conditionals ●Loops ●Functions ●Lists and Arrays ●File Input/Output* ●Classes and Objects*
Syllabus Area Two:
Syllabus Area Two:
●Logical Thinking ●Algorithmic Thinking ●Decomposition ●Pattern Identification ●Abstraction ●Evaluation ●De-bugging

* Juniors and Intermediates will not be set problems that require an understanding of syllabus area two.

Age group differences

Junior

Junior

All tasks will be Blockly tasks.
Senior

Senior

Some tasks in Sections 1 and 2 will be Blockly tasks.
Intermediate
Intermediate
All tasks in Sections 1 and 2 will be Blockly tasks and the two Section 3 problems will be solvable using Blockly.
Elite
Elite
Some tasks in Section 1 may be Blockly tasks.

The Final Statistics for the 2021 Challenge

Age Group

 Participants Top Scores Top 25%

Top 50%
Elite 584 68 82+ 108+
Seniors 1426 66 59+ 84+
Intermediate 3875 66 112+ 554+
Juniors 2713 66 31+ 401+
Totals 8598

Requirements

Deadline

  • Preliminary (round 1): April 30th, 2023
  • Final (round 2): Jun 11th, 2023

Computer

  • Candidates must bring their own computer for programming competition

ASDAN EPQ Scholarship

3000RMB/std

Perfect Score&Gold

2000RMB/std

Silver

1000RMB/std

Bronze

Noted：The ASDAN Scholarship is only available to Year 10, 11 and 12 students for participating ASDAN Extended Project Qualification(EPQ). EPQ is recommended by the G5 group and many leading universities as a competitive academic experience. Scholarships cannot be exchanged for cash. For further details see:http://www.seedasdan.org/epq/。

FAQ

1. REFUND POLICY
If, for some reason, the student is unable to attend after paying the fee, please contact us. If you apply before the registration deadline, 25% of the registration fee will be deducted as academic materials and service fees. If you apply after the registration deadline, no refund will be given.
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