British Informatics Olympiad Past Papers & Solutions
British Informatics Olympiad (BIO) Round 1
British Informatics Olympiad Round 1 past papers with solution approaches — algorithmic problem solving in any programming language.
- Eligibility
- UK school students under 19
- Format
- 3 programming problems, each with several parts, solved on a computer
- Duration
- 3 hours
- Scoring
- Marks per part; written program output determines credit
BIO Round 1 is unusual among olympiads: you sit it at a computer, in your school, in any language you like, and the problems are staged so that early parts are approachable while later parts demand genuine algorithmic insight. Past papers are the best possible preparation because the problem style — a puzzle-like specification, an exact output format, and a brutal test case at the end — is consistent year to year. Learning to read the specification with total precision earns more marks than learning another algorithm.
Past papers by year
Each year page lists the official paper source, the answer key location, difficulty notes and how to review your solutions.
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What the paper tests
Brute force & search
Dynamic programming
Graphs
Simulation & strings
Specification reading
Where it leads: Top Round 1 scorers are invited to the BIO final and UK IOI team selection. See our coaching programme.
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Past papers show you the gap; a mentor closes it. Our British Informatics Olympiad mentors are medal winners who walk through every solution 1-to-1, then set targeted practice on the archetypes you lost marks on.
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Frequently asked questions
- Which programming language should I use for BIO?
- Any language you are fluent in is allowed. Python is common for its speed of writing, though for the heaviest final parts a faster language such as C++ can matter.
- Where can I find BIO past papers?
- The British Informatics Olympiad publishes past Round 1 papers and mark schemes on its official site. We link there and coach the algorithmic thinking behind the harder parts.