Halls of Learning

Student FAQs

Can anyone take part?
Only invited students can take part. A teacher from your school has to register as a coordinator to invite students.

Are there prizes?
All participants in Round 1 will receive a digital certificate. All finalists will receive printed certificates and there will be trophies and medals for the top scorers.

Can anyone use or try the past challenges?
Yes. Simply head over to the Challenges tab above. (no login required)

Is it impossible to complete all the tasks in an hour?
Very few students manage to solve 12 tasks in the hour. Each year students are encouraged to try and beat their previous year's score.

Are the longer tasks most easily solved in Python?
The longer tasks are designed to be algorithmic problems with no specific language in mind. It should be possible to solve them in any of the major programming languages in Jamaican schools.

Why are answers only provided in Blockly and Python?
It is not possible to provide answers in all the languages taught in Jamaican Schools. However, as the tasks are algorithmic problems, it should be possible to use the code provided to work out a solution in your preferred language.

The area to program in Blockly is too small
The space for your blocks can be increased by collapsing the question menu:

Are there any debugging tools in Blockly?
By right-clicking on a block you can disable it:

This can be useful when trying to find out which part of your code is doing something unexpected or, in Picture module questions, if your partial solution is getting in the way of the shadow image you are trying to produce.

Teacher FAQs

How do I register my students for the challenge?

1. Go to challenges.hallsoflearning.com/admin
2. Click on the “Register as a coordinator”
3. Select the Parish of your school and click “Next step”
4. In “Find a school”, type your school name and select it from the options. Click “Next step”
5. Enter your details in the Coordinator section and click “Request Registration”

What content will be covered on the OUCC - Jamaica?
See details in the syllabus section

How do my students prepare for the OUCC - Jamaica?
One approach is for students to use the prepare and tutorials sections and then practice the past challenges.

How do I get my usernames and passwords for my participating students?
These can be obtained from the admin site during the week before the challenge.

What are the age groups for the OUCC - Jamaica?
Junior - Grades 4, Grade 5, Grade 6
Intermediate - Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9
Senior - Grade 10, Grade 11
Elite - Grade 12, Grade 13

What are the dates for this year's OUCC - Jamaica?
Round 1: May 10-20, 2024
Finals: June 3, 2024
Awards: June 14, 2024