BIO'96
The British Informatics Olympiad, sponsored by Data Connection.

The 1996 British Informatics Olympiad

I would like to invite your to enter for the British Informatics Olympiad, the national IT competition for schools. The BIO is free, thanks to sponsorship by Data Connection, but a variety of prizes can be won. The top four competitors will represent Britain at the 1996 International Olympiad in Informatics, this year hosted by Hungary.

The BIO is open to all students under 19 years old, whether they are studying computer science or not. The paper will have three tasks to be solved by writing a program (on any computer and in any language), supplemented by short written questions. It will be staged so that those with some programming experience can do well - although the competition for places on the final round is likely to be fierce. For an introduction to the type of problems involved, see our sample questions.

Schools who want to enter should fill in and return the application form as soon as possible. We will then send you the competition rules and the 1996 BIO paper, to be taken preferably before 14 March. You will also get solutions to enable you to mark the papers rapidly (this will not require any specialist knowledge). We will award certificates for merit or distinction to a large proportion of entrants, and invite the top 15 competitors to the final, in Cambridge from 12-14 April.

If they are good enough to make the top four, your students will win an expenses-paid trip to Veszprém, Hungary,from 25 July to 1 August, competing for Britain at the International Olympiad in Informatics. I am aiming to repeat last year's success, when Patrick Smears, a sixth former at King Edward VI School, Southampton, reached second in the world and won a gold medal, a Philips CD-I multimedia system and a laser printer.

Antony Rix
Chairman, the British Informatics Olympiad

Application form

Name of school:

Address including postcode:

School type (eg. Comprehensive, Grant maintained, FE College):

Your name and position:

Phone number:
Can you be reached on this number during the daytime or in the evening?

E-mail address:

Approximate number of students entering BIO'96:

Your signature and date:

Send to:
Antony Rix