I have entered students into international competitions for years and have seen both children who gained enormously and children who lost heart. The difference is when they enter and why.

What children genuinely gain

1. A deadline that finally finishes something

The most straightforward benefit. Children studying with no target often stall for months; a real exam date produces revision without any nagging.

2. A sense of where they stand

Competing internationally widens the picture in both directions: "I am not as bad as I feared" and "there is a long way to go".

3. A certificate for the portfolio

Genuinely useful for university applications and first jobs — but the third benefit, not the first.

The traps

Children who enter because their parents want a certificate usually stop afterwards. Children who enter because they want to know what they can do usually carry on for years.
  • Entering too early. Two months in, facing very hard problems, a child concludes "I am not good at this", which is untrue. Four to six months first.
  • Caring about the medal more than the process. If the household only celebrates medals, the child learns that only outcomes count.
  • Competing instead of building. Competitions train solving problems that already have answers; projects train making things nobody has answers for. Both are needed.

Who is ready

  • Four to six months of study, able to write simple programs unaided
  • Reasonably resilient when something does not work
  • Wants to enter. The most important item.

What to say before and after

Before: set a process goal — "attempt every question" beats "win gold".

After, whatever the result: ask "which question was the most fun?" and "what do you want to go back and learn?" Those two questions turn a competition into a lesson rather than a verdict.

At our school

We run international exams several times a year. Everyone who completes the paper receives a certificate, and results are recorded automatically in the student's history, visible in their account and on their public profile.

See what is open now on the competitions page, and past results on the announcements page.