Just a reminder about how we choose the prize winners and medallists so there are no disappointments or surprises!
We expect a number of you to end up with full or close to full marks across the part B challenges 4B-10B. Among that group we will take speed of solution of the final challenge (10B) into account when deciding who to shortlist. Those who are shortlisted will be invited to submit an account of how they cracked the final challenge, including copies of any code they used and describing their approach, any wrong turns they took, insights that helped them and any methods they relied on to break the cipher. Further details of the information required will be included in the request for it.
The request to send the account will first be issued in the “Congratulations” message those teams see when they submit their correct solution to Challenge 10B, and it will be followed by a message on the website message system asking them to get in touch by email. If you are lucky enough to get one of these requests, please get in touch with us straight away by email so we know you have seen it, even if you will need a little more time to prepare your account.
The prize committee will consider the reports and may ask for clarification, especially if there are any questions about eligibility, and on the basis of the scores and the reports will select the prize winners. Alongside the small number of prizes we have available, we will be awarding a number of Silver Medals and the medallists will be selected from among those with the highest scores for part B. Everyone who is asked to submit an account for consideration by the prize committee will also be considered for a medal, subject to eligibility.
If you have any questions about this, please do ask. You can post a query in the forum, or send an email to [email protected], but please note that we cannot enter into any discussion of the prize committee’s deliberations or decisions.
Even if you do not get invited to submit an account, you can all be extremely proud of your achievements in the competition this year. We have really tried to trip you up and you have shown resilience, patience and ingenuity, and we hope that the competition has been reward enough in itself. There is always next year!
