In 2021, DLTV collaborated again with the Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) to run the Victorian Coding Challenge, a two-stage coding challenge open to government schools in Victoria. The following report is adapted from the winners announcement by Danijela Draskovic (MAV).

As in 2020, we were impressed with the level of engagement and participation in the 2021 Victorian Coding Challenge. We had over 1700 students from government schools across Year 5-10 take part. The feedback we have received from teachers and students alike has been very encouraging, and so, we hope to keep this program going for many years to come. (Registrations for the 2022 Victorian Coding Challenge will be available soon at the MAV webpage.)

We would like to thank the schools who took their students through to the second stage of the VCC – the competition stage. Judging day was extremely fun, and rewarding for the judges. We are always so impressed by what students put forward. A very big congratulations to all the students on their submissions. They should be very proud of their achievements, regardless of if they’ve received a prize or not.

Judges' comments for YEAR 5 & 6

The Year 5 & 6 competition prompt was to make a DJ Controller Board in Scratch. The board needed to have a distinct and coded repeating melody, and other elements that the user could then add to that melody. These could have been short sounds, other melodies, a change in instrument, a change in pitch, volume or tempo etc.

The winners were Jeremy, Alec, Fletcher and Eamon from Merri Creek Primary School. They developed a DJ Controller Board that the was jammed packed with neat features. The dark interface with adjustable shining lights made for a very stylish look. Furthermore, the judges were impressed with the team’s clever code, especially in the melody generation. Well done!

The dual runners up were:

Samuel, Edward and David from Ascot Vale Primary School. This team had all coding requirements in place and a very colourful and neatly arranged board. The judges were impressed with the many options of melodies, both instrumental and drums. We especially liked the very cool intro screen, including the input of the user’s name, for a personalised touch.

Thomas, Chris, Harry and Bodhi from Surrey Hills Primary School. The judges had a lot of fun with this DJ controller board. The interactive sound buttons were enjoyable, and the images of the various animals on the buttons added to the appeal. This team’s project had very impressive code, and the user interface was neatly arranged, yet trendy and stylish.

Judges' comments for YEAR 7 & 8

The Year 7 & 8 competition prompt was to write a program designed to be a lockdown companion. It gives the user three options for lockdown activities: Activity, Game or Trivia. If the user types ‘Activity’, the program will, through the use of an API, determine a suitable activity the user could partake in. Selecting ‘Game’ will engage the user in a simple, text-based, game that the students have coded in. Lastly, a selection of ‘Trivia’ would engage the user in a trivia quiz.

The winners were Nikolaos and Matthew from Mount Erin College. Special mention to these students for winning a prize for the second year in a row with the VIC Coding Challenge! This team produced a very clean and sophisticated interface with custom functions to manage UI. Everything worked very well and their making-of video is very well explained and exhaustive.

The runners up were Manav, Naman and Mark from Glen Waverley Secondary College. The code was very clean and clever, and the students met all the functional requirements needed to get this Lockdown Companion on the podium. Well done!

Judges' comments for YEAR 9 & 10

The Year 9 & 10 competition prompt was to create a first person 3D game using Python code in Ursina Engine. The object for the player is to reach the target at the opposite end of the playing area. The students were to come up with the obstacles and game challenges that stood in the way of the player and their target.

The winners were Riley, Kai and Brandon from John Monash Science School. The code in this game was very complex and exceeded our expectations. It was also jam-packed with clever mathematics. The game had cool features, like being able to build your own structures to climb upon. It was definitely a challenge to complete the game successfully, but the judges had a lot of fun trying.

The runners up were Anshu and Rohan from Melbourne High School. The environment in which this game took place was visually pleasing. The premise of collecting coins in order to escape was very suitable, and the code was pleasing, with some very innovative elements. All requirements were met for a successfully completed project.

Once again, an enormous CONGRATULATIONS to the students involved, and to their teachers. We hope to see you back again for another year of coding in 2022.

The Victorian Coding Challenge 2021 was supported by the Victorian Government.

Curious about the 2020 winning entries? These are published in DLTV's most recent Journal.