--- title: "Coding Olympiad Medal Track — IOQI, ZIO, INOI, IOI, Bebras, Math Kangaroo Coaching | Modern Age Coders" description: "A dedicated, results-driven preparation track for the Indian Computing Olympiad (IOQI, ZIO, INOI, IOI), Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge, Math Kangaroo, CodeChef Starters and IOI-level competitive programming. For ambitious students aged 10 to 18. Trained by past Olympiad medallists. Live online, India and abroad." canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/coding-olympiad-medal-track keywords: ["coding olympiad", "indian computing olympiad", "ioqi preparation", "zio preparation", "inoi preparation", "ioi training", "bebras challenge", "math kangaroo india", "competitive programming for kids", "olympiad coaching online", "coding medal track", "codeforces training for school students"] source: src/pages/coding-olympiad-medal-track.html --- > A dedicated, results-driven preparation track for the Indian Computing Olympiad (IOQI, ZIO, INOI, IOI), Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge, Math Kangaroo, CodeChef Starters and IOI-level competitive programming. For ambitious students aged 10 to 18. Trained by past Olympiad medallists. Live online, India and abroad. A medal track, not a syllabus # For the child who already *likes* the hard problems. Modern Age Coders runs a serious, year-long preparation track for the Indian Computing Olympiad — IOQI, ZIO, INOI and IOI — alongside the Bebras Challenge, Math Kangaroo, USACO and the international competitive programming circuit. Trained by past Olympiad medallists. Capped at eight students per cohort. For families who have decided the goal is not "exposure to coding" but a medal. Apply to the medal trackSee the year planEST. MMXIXMACOlympiad CouncilThe olympiads we coach to medal ## Six events. One disciplined path. *Three tiers of competition*, one shared method. Tier 1 — National ### Indian Computing Olympiad *(IOQI)* Conducted by IARCS — first stage of selection for the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). The qualifier round of the Indian path to the IOI. Held every November. Open to students of Classes 8 to 12. Tests algorithmic thinking, mathematics and programming logic. We cover the syllabus through 96 weekly problem sets and 12 full-length mock tests. **Class 8–12**Eligibility**3 hours**Paper lengthTier 1 — National ### Zonal Informatics Olympiad *(ZIO)* Conducted by IARCS — second stage, purely paper-based, algorithmic and combinatorial reasoning. ZIO is the IOQI's harder sibling. No code is written. Students reason about algorithms on paper, designing solutions to graph, DP and counting problems. Modern Age Coders is one of the few schools in India that runs a dedicated 22-week ZIO preparation block separate from coding lessons. **Class 8–12**Eligibility**3 hours**Paper lengthTier 2 — National ### Indian National Olympiad in Informatics *(INOI)* Conducted by IARCS — coding round, qualifies students for International Olympiad in Informatics training camp. The crown of the Indian path. Students write C++ solutions to two algorithmic problems in three hours. Top thirty go to the IOI Training Camp, top four go to the IOI itself. Our INOI preparation runs from June to December and uses original problem sets graded by past IOI medallists. **Top 30**Reach IOITC**Top 4**Reach IOITier 3 — International ### International Olympiad in Informatics *(IOI)* The Olympics of school-level computer science. Held annually since 1989. Once a student qualifies for the IOI Training Camp, our role shifts to advanced coaching: heavy-data structures, advanced DP, graph algorithms, geometry, ad-hoc problem solving. Two of our 2024 students earned IOITC selection. Our work continues with them through the camp. **90+ countries**Compete**Gold / Silver / Bronze**AwardedTier 1 — School ### Bebras International *Computational Thinking Challenge* Run in 60+ countries. The world's largest computational thinking contest for school students. Bebras is the gentlest on-ramp to olympiad culture. Pure logic, no code, age-banded from Class 2 onward. We use Bebras as the first competition every Medal Track student sits — to build composure, problem-reading speed, and the habit of taking a clock seriously. **Class 2–12**Age bands**45 min**PaperTier 1 — School ### Math Kangaroo *and Computational Math* Run in 95 countries. Mathematics-first, but the foundation every computing olympiad sits on top of. Coding olympiads are won on the mathematics underneath. We run a parallel Math Kangaroo and computational-mathematics track because we have seen what happens when a student learns competitive programming without a real maths spine. Our students take Math Kangaroo as a confidence event each March. **Pre-K – 12**Age bands**75 min**PaperThe annual ladder ## One full year, six rungs, *climbed in order.* Most coaching programmes pretend to do "olympiad prep" while quietly running a regular Python class. We do not. The Medal Track has a different content tree, different teachers, different problem sets and a different clock — built on the rhythm of the Indian Computing Olympiad calendar. Rung I — April to May ### Foundations & *fluency drill* The first eight weeks are not about contests. They are about turning whichever language the student knows (Python or C++) into a precision instrument. Students complete 240 timed micro-problems on input parsing, edge cases, loops, recursion and basic complexity reasoning. By the end of May we have a baseline of how each student thinks under pressure. Bebras Challenge sits at the end of this rung as a confidence event — the first medal most of our students ever bring home. - **Core tools**Codeforces 800–1100, CodeChef Starters, Bebras past papers - **Outcome**Reliable solves, clean code, time-boxed habits - **First medal target**Bebras India (May) Rung II — June to July ### Algorithms & the *structured proof* Sorting, searching, prefix sums, sliding window, two pointers, basic greedy. Each algorithm is paired with a proof obligation — students must explain to a peer why the algorithm is correct before they are allowed to submit. The point is not to memorise patterns; the point is to grow the muscle that survives a problem the student has never seen. By week 16, students are comfortable solving Codeforces Div 3 problems and beginning to attempt Div 2 A and B. - **Sets**14 algorithm units, 320 problems - **Format**Weekly contest + peer review session - **Skill check**Internal MAC Mock I Rung III — August to September ### Mathematics & *discrete intuition* Combinatorics, modular arithmetic, number theory, basic graph theory. This is the rung where IOQI is actually won — the IOQI paper is more a mathematics paper than a coding one. We run a parallel mathematics block where students sit Math Kangaroo style problems, build problem-folders, and learn to write rigorous one-page solution sketches by hand. Students who join the Medal Track late and try to skip this rung historically fail IOQI. We have learned to not let them skip. - **Topics**NT, combinatorics, graphs, DP foundations - **Resource**USAMO problem book, Putnam selections - **Medal target**Internal IOQI mock (Oct) Rung IV — October to November ### IOQI focus & *exam discipline* The eight weeks before IOQI day are run like a JEE Advanced final stretch. Six full-length 3-hour mocks, each followed by a 90-minute group discussion led by a past IOI participant. Problem-reading speed, time allocation across 12 questions, partial-credit harvesting, and the psychology of the second hour are explicitly trained. This rung is the one most parents underestimate. It is also the one that converts a 'good coder' into a 'qualifier'. - **Mocks**6 full-length IOQI replicas - **Coaching**Past IOI medallists - **Event**IOQI (November) Rung V — December to February ### ZIO and INOI *preparation* Students who qualify IOQI now split into a ZIO group and a coding group, since the events test different muscles. ZIO students train without a keyboard — paper, pen, formal write-ups. INOI students move to C++ and IOI-style algorithmic depth: segment trees, advanced DP, graph algorithms, geometry. Modern Age Coders pairs each student with a dedicated mentor for the eight final weeks. - **ZIO group**Paper-based reasoning, 18 mocks - **INOI group**C++ depth, 24 IOI-style sets - **Events**ZIO (Dec), INOI (Jan), Math Kangaroo (Feb) Rung VI — March to April ### IOITC preparation & *international circuits* Students who reach the IOI Training Camp move into our final coaching block. We do not pretend to replace the IARCS faculty at the camp itself — instead we give every student a 60-day individual preparation, daily review, and a personal IOI medallist mentor. Students who do not reach IOITC begin USACO (US Computing Olympiad), APIO and other international rotation events. - **IOITC group**Daily mentor session - **International**USACO, APIO, ICPC pathway - **Closing event**IOI selection (Jun) The method, in four sentences ## Most coaching produces students who *know more*. We produce students who *solve more*. Modern Age Coders has been training Olympiad-track students since 2019. We have refined four habits that separate students who place from students who participate. They are unfashionable, slow, and almost embarrassingly old-school. They are also the only ones that worked. I. ### Hand-written solutions before code Every student writes a solution by hand, on paper, before opening an editor. The brain that learns to solve on paper survives the moment when the editor crashes, the keyboard fails, or the proctor changes the rules. Roughly three quarters of the students we meet have never been taught to think away from a screen. We re-teach this. II. ### One real teacher, capped batches Eight students per cohort, one instructor, one mentor. We do not run thirty-student "olympiad classes" pretending to be elite preparation. Each student is known by name, weakness, and habit. The teacher reads every solution, every week, and writes back. III. ### The clock is sacred Every problem is timed. Every mock is full length. We do not allow students to take half a mock today and half tomorrow. Olympiad scoring is fundamentally a time-allocation skill, and time pressure cannot be trained casually. The students who win are the students who have lost sixty mocks under a real clock before they faced the real paper. IV. ### Proof obligation, not pattern matching Every algorithm is taught with a why. Every submission is reviewed for correctness reasoning, not just verdict. The student who has built the habit of justifying a solution will, six months later, justify a solution they have never seen before. That is the difference between a Codeforces grinder and an Olympiad finalist. > "A medal is not a moment. It is six months of mornings, one hard paper, and a teacher who told you the truth about your weak rung. We try to be that teacher." — Aryan Mehta, Senior Olympiad Mentor at Modern Age Coders, former IOITC participantA small honour wall, kept honest ## Real students. Real events. *Real years.* IIOITC *Qualifier*A.M., Class 11 · Mumbai · 2024 Cleared IOQI, ZIO and INOI in a single year. Continues with our mentor support through the camp cycle. IIINOI *Top 100*S.K., Class 10 · Bangalore · 2024 Joined the Medal Track at age 11. Has placed in the INOI top 100 for two consecutive years. IIIBebras India *Gold*D.P., Class 7 · Pune · 2025 Gold in Bebras India. Now in second-year Medal Track, training toward IOQI 2026. IVCodeChef *5★ Coder*R.G., Class 12 · Kolkata · 2025 Reached 5★ rating on CodeChef while in Class 12. Now an undergrad at IIT Bombay. VMath Kangaroo *India Rank 7*N.B., Class 8 · Delhi · 2025 National rank 7 in her age band. Continues with the parallel mathematics block. VIUSACO *Silver Division*I.S., Class 10 · Dubai · 2025 Promoted from Bronze to Silver within four months. The first MAC student on the USACO international circuit. Choose your weapon · the courses behind the medal track ## Six courses that *feed* the medal track. If you are not ready to apply to the Medal Track yet, these are the live small-batch courses that build the foundation. Each is a real cohort, taught by a senior MAC instructor. You can enroll directly — and apply to the Medal Track later when your child is ready. [Tier 1 · College / Senior Competitive Programming *Masterclass* The full IOI / ICPC / Codeforces preparation curriculum, ported to a 36-week weekly cohort. Heavy on algorithms, contests, and proof obligation. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/competitive-programming-masterclass-college)[Tier 2 · Teens · C++ C++ Programming *for Teens* The INOI and IOI language. Taught from zero through advanced — STL, templates, complexity, problem-solving. The foundation no shortcut replaces. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/cpp-programming-masterclass-for-teens)[Tier 2 · College · C++ C++ Complete *Masterclass* The advanced cousin of the teen course. Modern C++17 / C++20, contest-grade habits, memory model, advanced templates and graph libraries. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/cpp-programming-complete-masterclass-college)[Tier 1 · DSA Data Structures & *Algorithms* The single most important course for any olympiad-bound student. 48 weeks of structures, algorithms, complexity and weekly contest practice. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/data-structures-algorithms-masterclass-college)[Tier 2 · Teens · Problem Solving Problem-Solving & *DSA · Teens* The teen-paced edition of DSA. Built specifically around the IOQI mathematics block and Bebras-style reasoning. Class 8 onwards. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/problem-solving-dsa-masterclass-teens)[Tier 1 · Maths Olympiad Olympiad *Mathematics Mastery* The parallel mathematics track. Combinatorics, number theory, geometry, graph theory. The chapter that quietly wins IOQI every year. Weekly live · 2 classes₹1,499/mo](/courses/olympiad-competition-mathematics-mastery)Enrolment is by application ## We do not enrol the willing. We enrol the *committed.* The Medal Track is capped at eight students per cohort. Each application is read by a senior mentor. We will reply within 48 hours with either a calendar link for a screening conversation, or an honest note explaining why this particular cohort is not the right fit for your child — and what would be. No pre-tests. No fees to apply. We are interested in the way your child speaks about a problem they could not solve last week, more than in any score. Frequent honest questions ## What parents and students *ask before applying.* How is this different from a regular Codeforces club or a Coding Ninjas Olympiad batch? Three differences. First, batch size: we cap cohorts at eight, so every student is known by name and weak spot. Second, the syllabus is built around the Indian Computing Olympiad calendar specifically, not a generic competitive programming roadmap — IOQI mathematics, ZIO paper reasoning and INOI C++ are all distinct disciplines and need distinct preparation blocks. Third, the mentors are people who have themselves sat the relevant papers, not generalists. My child has no coding background. Can they still join? If your child is in Class 6 or 7 and has strong mathematics, we will accept them into the Rung I cohort and treat the first three months as a coding-from-scratch ramp. For students Class 8 and above, we look for at least one year of comfortable Python or C++ before the Medal Track makes sense — otherwise we recommend our [teen coding programme](/levels/coding-for-teens) first and a Medal Track entry the following year. We will tell you honestly which is right after the screening call. What is the total time commitment per week? Rungs I and II require about six hours per week: two 90-minute classes and roughly three hours of independent problem work. From Rung III onward, the load grows to nine hours per week, and during the IOQI eight-week sprint (Rung IV) it peaks at twelve. We design the load to be sustainable alongside school — most of our students are in CBSE, ICSE, IB or IGCSE and the track is timed to respect their board calendars. What if my child does not place in IOQI in the first year? Most do not. The student who places at IOQI in their first attempt is the exception, not the rule. Modern Age Coders treats Rung-I to Rung-V as a two-year arc by default — the goal is medal selection by the second IOQI attempt for most students who start at Class 8 or 9. Students who join in Class 11 or 12 are placed on a different, accelerated curve. We will tell you what is realistic during the screening call. We do not over-promise. Do you also run the medal track outside India? Yes. Our online cohorts include students based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the UAE, Singapore and Australia. For US-based students we additionally prepare for USACO and the Math Kangaroo USA. For UK students, the British Informatics Olympiad. For students in Singapore, the Singapore IOI selections. Country-specific support pages: [USA](/coding-classes-in-united-states), [UK](/coding-classes-in-united-kingdom), [Canada](/coding-classes-in-canada), [UAE](/coding-classes-in-uae), [Singapore](/coding-classes-in-singapore), [Australia](/coding-classes-in-australia). Is there a fee waiver or scholarship? Yes. Modern Age Coders offers full and partial fee waivers for students who clear our internal screening with distinction, and for families in financial hardship. We do not advertise scholarships loudly because we do not want them to become a marketing channel — they exist to keep the door open for students who deserve to be in the room. Ask in the screening call. We will be honest about what we can offer. How does this fit with JEE preparation? For Class 11 and 12 students aiming at JEE, we offer a stacked alternative — our [JEE-aspirant coding track](/jee-aspirant-coding-track). It runs Python and competitive programming on top of board and JEE preparation without disturbing the JEE clock. Several of our students have cleared JEE Advanced while continuing to compete on the coding circuit. The Medal Track itself is heavier and is best for students who are not also targeting JEE Advanced. What if my child is younger than 10? For ages 6 to 10, our [age-wise coding pages](/coding-for-8-year-olds) outline a more appropriate path. Children that young can sit Bebras and Math Kangaroo, but a full Medal Track is not the right shape for them yet. We are happy to add your child to a junior Bebras cohort and to begin the Medal Track around Class 6 or 7. ## Related *pages worth your time* #### Adjacent tracks [JEE coding track](/jee-aspirant-coding-track)[AI & ML for teens](/ai-ml-course-for-teens)[Python & AI for kids](/python-and-ai-classes-for-kids-teens)[Full coding roadmap](/coding-roadmap) #### By board [CBSE coding](/coding-for-cbse-students)[ICSE coding](/coding-for-icse-students)[IGCSE coding](/coding-for-igcse-students)[CS Class 11 CBSE](/computer-science-class-11-cbse) #### By age [Coding for 12 year olds](/coding-for-12-year-olds)[Coding for 14 year olds](/coding-for-14-year-olds)[Coding for 16 year olds](/coding-for-16-year-olds)[Coding for 17 year olds](/coding-for-17-year-olds) #### Tools & calculators [Screen time to skill](/screen-time-to-skill)[Coding fee calculator](/coding-fee-calculator)[Free resources](/free-resources)[Book a free demo](/book-demo) --- *Canonical: https://learn.modernagecoders.com/coding-olympiad-medal-track*