Two Loughborough Grammar School pupils have won the Perse Coding Team Challenge, a national competition, claiming the top title in the Selective Schools and Clubs category with a winning score of 120 points.
Held online, the Perse Coding Challenge requires participants to apply computational thinking to a series of increasingly complex Python coding problems. It focuses heavily on algorithmic thinking, problem-solving and programming logic, becoming more demanding throughout the rounds of the competition.
Out of around 3,000 teams from across the country, Year 10 pupils Artin Ghadar and Shaan Sisodia were awarded first place on a tie-break. Having taken the fewest number of submissions needed to achieve their points, Artin and Shaan were delighted that their victory recognised their collaboration, teamwork and logical thinking skills.
Reflecting on their success, Artin, who codes independently in his own time, said: “We were really pleased to win the competition. We were hoping to place highly, so it felt rewarding to come out on top.”
GCSE Computer Science pupil, Shaan, added: “The computing department was very supportive, Mrs Alexander especially – helping designate practice areas and providing any help needed, but a lot of the progress comes from practising independently and pushing beyond that.” Teacher of Computer Science and Head of Year 10, Mrs Karen Alexander praised the boys for their success: “This is a brilliant achievement in a very competitive national competition. Full marks alone are impressive, but to go on and win on a tie-break against some of the top schools in the country really shows their problem-solving ability, resilience and attention to detail. They are a great example to their year group and beyond, and it’s brilliant to see them inspiring younger students to get involved in coding competitions. We’re incredibly proud of them.”
Preparation for the competition aligns closely with Loughborough Grammar School’s Computer Science curriculum, particularly in areas such as algorithms, decomposition, and structured programming.
The pupils’ success reflects both their classroom learning and their ability to apply these skills in unfamiliar and challenging contexts.
Categories: Loughborough Grammar School
