Jugendwettbewerb Informatik preparation

The 2026 round 3 is running now, together with round 1 of the 45th Bundeswettbewerb, and closes on 23 November 2026. BWINF's rules keep solution ideas private until that deadline, so those two tasks stay out of our classes until it has passed.

Source: BWINF, Jugendwettbewerb FAQ and main page (bwinf.de/jugendwettbewerb/faq/), read on 3 November 2026. The English wording is our translation.

Because a pupil may now try more than one level, the choice is less risky than it looks. A child in Klasse 6 who is comfortable with nested loops can attempt Bronze and then Silver in the same round. Our advice is to start a level below where you think you are, finish it calmly, and climb. Every task also comes in three versions, so even a hard level has an easy first step.

x, y = 0, 0
dx, dy = 1, 0          # start facing east

def turn_left(dx, dy):
    return -dy, dx

for side in range(1, 5):
    for _ in range(side):
        x, y = x + dx, y + dy
    dx, dy = turn_left(dx, dy)
    print("after side", side, "robot at", (x, y), "facing", (dx, dy))

path = "..*.**..*"
coins = 0
streak = 0
longest = 0
for cell in path:
    if cell == "*":
        coins += 1
        streak += 1
        longest = max(longest, streak)
    else:
        streak = 0
print("coins:", coins, "longest run:", longest)

Program 2 uses three variables that change at different moments, the Silver and Gold idea in miniature. The common mistake is to forget that streak goes back to zero on an empty cell, which would make longest come out as 4. The trace table catches that before the computer does, and in a timed round that saves minutes.

1. Exercise 1 (Bronze idea). Change Program 1 to run for 6 sides. Where does the robot end, and which way does it face? (Answer: at (3, 4) facing west. Side 5 takes five steps east to (3, -2) and turns north; side 6 takes six steps north to (3, 4) and turns west.)
2. Exercise 2 (Silver idea). In Program 2, change the path to "**.***.*". Predict coins and longest run. (Answer: coins 6, longest run 3.)
3. Exercise 3 (round 2 Silver idea). Turn Program 2 into a function that takes the path as a parameter and returns both numbers. Call it on two different paths.
4. Exercise 4 (round 2 Gold idea). Store the position of every coin in a list while you walk, then print the list. For the original path it should be [2, 4, 5, 8].

Under the Einheitenzeitgesetz Germany keeps UTC+1 through the winter and moves to UTC+2 for summer; the change back happened on 25 October 2026 and the next change forward is on 28 March 2027. India has no summer time and stays at UTC+5:30, four and a half hours ahead now.

None of these is a fixed batch slot. You pick the trial lesson in your own time zone; groups and one-to-one lessons are arranged around school, and can be moved in the weeks of round 1 and round 2.