Year 12 pupil Michael Zhao has reached the national final of the British Informatics Olympiad – an annual computer programming competition for schools and sixth form colleges.
Michael, who is one of only 15 entrants from across the country to progress to the final, will now compete for the chance to be one of four students who will represent Britain at the International Informatics Olympiad in Australia, in July.
The first stage of the British Informatics Olympiad (BIO) is a three-question, three-hour examination sat in the candidate’s school, in which participants solve problems with the aid of a computer. It was taken this year at QE by Michael and his fellow Year 12 pupil, Gabriel Gendler. The examination is marked by a teacher and then submitted to the competition organisers for moderation.
Michael, who learned to program outside School, will travel to Trinity College, Cambridge, for the BIO final in April. It will involve solving more difficult problems, some written and some involving programming.
The four top performers will then qualify for the all-expenses-paid trip to Brisbane.