The Bebras Challenge is a free, 45-minute set of online logic puzzles that schools run every November, for children aged 6 to 19. Your child doesn’t need to know any coding, because the puzzles test the step-by-step thinking that programmers use.
In the UK it’s run by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a computing education charity. Last year more than four million children in over 80 countries took part.
What is computational thinking?
It’s a way of solving problems that comes from computing but works anywhere. In plain words:
- breaking a big problem into small steps
- spotting patterns
- ignoring the details that don’t matter
- writing instructions clear enough for someone else, or a machine, to follow
- finding the mistake when the instructions go wrong
Every Bebras task uses one or more of these. None of them needs anything learned in class, so a child who has never coded can do very well.
Which age group is my child in?
For primary children in England and Wales:
- Kits: ages 6 to 8, Years 2 and 3
- Castors: ages 8 to 10, Years 4 and 5
- Juniors: ages 10 to 12, Years 6 and 7
Kits and Castors can enter on their own or as a team of up to three. Children are only ever compared with others in their own group.
When is it, and how do schools enter?
It runs over two weeks every November, in a lesson the school picks. In 2026 that’s 9 to 20 November. Check this year’s dates on the UK Bebras site.
Children can’t sign themselves up. A teacher registers the school for free, at any point in the year, then enrols pupils from September. If your school doesn’t take part, show the teacher the site. Home-educated children can be entered by a parent through a form there.
What does a Bebras puzzle look like?
The tasks are on screen, and many are interactive: dragging things into order, clicking a route or picking an answer. Most come with a little story. Here’s one in the Bebras style, written by us, to draw on squared paper tonight.
A robot beaver lives on a 4 by 4 grid. It starts in the bottom-left square, facing up. Its log is in the top-right square. Its program is: forward 2, turn left, forward 3, turn left, forward 1. The beaver bumps into the edge of the grid. Change one instruction so it reaches the log.
- Act it out. Use a coin as the beaver. After “forward 2” it’s two squares up the left-hand column.
- Find where it goes wrong. “Turn left” makes it face left, but it’s already against the left edge, so “forward 3” walks it off the grid.
- Fix it and test it. Change that turn to “turn right”. Now it goes three squares right to the far column, turns left to face up, and steps forward one square onto the log.
That’s an algorithm and some debugging in one puzzle, and children love spotting the bug.
How is it scored?
Tasks come in three levels, A (easiest), B and C. A right answer earns 6, 9 or 12 points. A wrong answer on a B or C task loses 2 or 4 points, but a blank never loses anything.
So if your child is truly stuck on a harder task, the best move is to leave it blank and move on. Nobody is expected to finish them all.
Every child gets a certificate. The top 10 per cent in each age group nationally get gold, and schools award best in school, distinction and merit.
Why is it good for children who like puzzles?
Bebras rewards careful thinking over speed or school knowledge, so a child who loves riddles and mazes often does brilliantly, even if they aren’t top of the class in maths.
It also builds habits that help in any exam: reading every word, putting facts in order and checking an answer against the rules.
How can my child practise?
- Past challenges. The UK Bebras site has the challenges from 2021 to 2025 by age group, free with no login.
- Bebras cards. 48 printable puzzle cards for ages 7 to 11, free on the same site. The answers are only for teachers, so solve them together.
- Logic puzzles. Ordering puzzles, like “Amy is taller than Ben but shorter than Cara”, train the same skills. Our guide to logic questions shows a method, and Rush’s Deductions game practises putting people in order from a few facts.
- Pattern spotting. Non-verbal reasoning puzzles like what comes next train the eye to find a rule that changes step by step.
Before November, try one past challenge a week together. Read each story aloud, and ask your child to explain their plan before they click.
Questions parents also ask
Does my child need to know how to code?
No. The puzzles need no computing knowledge, and children who have never coded do well.
Can my child use a calculator?
Yes. Pencil, paper and a calculator are allowed, but no websites. Children work alone unless they’re in a Kits or Castors team.
Is there anything after Bebras?
Schools that took part can enter the Raspberry Pi Foundation Coding Challenge, a free 45-minute programming challenge for ages 10 and up, in block-based or text-based code.
