FORT MCMURRAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2833
Westwood student scores second highest Computing Competition mark in Canada

Dhvani Patel is on a roll. The grade 10 student from Westwood Community High School scored 74 out of 75 on the Canadian Computing Competition, receiving the second highest mark in Canada. Hosted by University of Waterloo's Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing - the competition was held in March.  

Said El Majdani, Aayushi Naik, Krutik Patel, Brian Vaughan, Computer Science teacher, Abdullah Khan and Dhvani Patel (sitting)

The three-hour exam featured five coding problems to solve using any programming language.

"It makes me proud to represent both Westwood and Fort McMurray. Essentially we had to come up with a program for the exam and use a creative approach to make it work," explained Dhvani, who is also on his way to the Canada-Wide Science Fair after winning a gold medal at the Wood Buffalo Regional Science Fair earlier this month.

Said El Majdani, Math and Science teacher at Westwood is proud of Dhvani.

"This is not an easy exam. And, it's not just a coding exam; there's critical thinking involved to solve problems, and then implement the solution as a program. For every problem students had to test the code with 15 challenges, or tests. Computing at this level during the first year of our running the program, and to have a grade 10 student of Dhvani's calibre means he'll go far with this, and continue to get even better," explained El Majdani.

Along with fellow Westwood students Aayushi Naik, Abdullah Khan, and Krutik Patel, all of whom also wrote the exam, Dhvani received a Certificate of Distinction which translates to being in the top 25% in Canada for all of them. All four students are in the 10th grade, new to coding, and took the test for the first time.

"We are so thrilled Westwood is able to offer Computer Science programming that has had such amazing results in Fort McMurray and across Canada," enthused Jessica Roy, Westwood Community High School Principal.

"Our Computer Science classes, Robotics programming and Coding Club have grown from 10 students a few years ago to well over 100. Having Dhvani score the second highest score in Canada and have Abdullah, Aayushi, and Krutik in the top 25% is an incredible result and we congratulate our students and our Computer Science teachers. These results are reflective of the countless hours of work and dedication put in by all," she said.

Congratulations all.