The Coding Challenge (UKCC)

The Coding Challenge (UKCC) has replaced the Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) in the UK, offering a fully upgraded program focused on fostering students' computational thinking skills. The UKCC is divided into five levels based on difficulty, catering to students from Grades 1 to 12. Participants in Grades 1-8 can join without prior programming knowledge, while Grades 9-12 require programming experience. The challenge aims to enhance students' skills, build their confidence, and inspire them to develop programming solutions using computational thinking in the future.

The Coding Challenge (UKCC), along with British Informatics Olympiad (BIO), stands as part of the United Kingdom Computational Thinking Challenges (UKCT Challenges), an organization dedicated to advancing computational thinking and programming education in the UK. Official Website: https://ukctchallenges.org

Language

Level A: Grade 1-6, Chinese & English

Level B: Grade 7-8, Chinese & English

Level C: Grade 9-10, English

Level D: Grade 11, English

Level E: Grade 12, English

Date

May 11, 2025 (Sun.)

Level A/B: 14:00-14:45 (45mins)

Level C/D/E: 15:00-15:45 (45mins)

Location

Online (Computers and mobile devices with cameras required)

Age group

Level A: Grade 1 - 6
Level B: Grade 7 - 8
Level C: Grade 9 - 10
Level D: Grade 11
Level E: Grade 12

Note: Lower levels can participate in higher levels, but higher levels cannot participate in lower levels.

Programming Language

Level A/B: All tasks are block-based drag-and-drop (no prior programming experience required)

Level C/D/E: All tasks are text-based (programming language required)

* Block-based tasks use visual code blocks (no programming language needed), focusing on developing computational thinking for younger students. Text-based tasks further enhance computational thinking while practicing programming language skills.

* Supported programming languages for Levels C/D/E: https://www.bebras.uk/index.php?action=content&id=136

Awards

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

	Level A	Level B	Level C	Level D	Level E
Grade	Grade 1 - 6	Grade 7 - 8	Grade 9 - 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
Technique	Block based		Text based
Programming Level	New to block - based programming	Experienced block - based programmers	New to text - based programming	Developing text - based programming	Experienced text - based programming
Methods Introduction	• Block - based: Use visual blocks to combine program logic, eliminating the need for manual code input. • Text - based: Input code manually using traditional programming languages such as Python, C#, Java, and VB.
Duration	45 mins
Question Distribution	8 questions (4 marks each)				5 questions (4 marks each)
Question Distribution	2 questions (8 marks each)				5 questions (8 marks each)
Math Skills	• Simple geometry • Shapes • Angles • Coordinates	• Rounding to n places • Substituting numbers in simple equations	• Rounding to n places • Substituting numbers in simple equations	-	-
Programming Constructs	• Sequence • Selection: IF blocks • Iteration: COUNT	• Selection: IF - ELIF - ELSE blocks • Iterating through characters in a string • Iterating through a list • Nested loops • Functions	• Sequence • Selection: IF - ELSE IF - ELSE • Iteration: Simple COUNT and CONDITION controlled loops 8-mark tasks only • Nested IF statements • Nested loops • Iterating over a string of characters	• Nested IF statements • Iterating over characters in a string • Iterating over elements in a list	• Function • Recursion • Nested loops
Input/Output	• Displaying text blocks	-	• Input - single value (max 2 lines) • Output - single line	• Input - multiple lines • Output - multiple lines	• Input - line(s) representing advanced data structure
String Handling	-	• String length	• String length • Converting to upper/lower case • String concatenation (joining strings) • Indexing characters in a string	• Split string	• Slice string • Extract substring • Replace substring • Reverse string • Removing whitespace (strip)
Data Types / Structures	• Strings • Integers8-mark only questions • Variables	• Real numbers • Variables	• Strings • Integers • Real numbers (decimal/float) • Boolean values • Casting between data types (e.g. string to integer) • Variables	• Arrays/lists (one - dimensional)	• Arrays/lists (multi - dimensional) • Dictionaries