The Value of Coding Competitions for Kids: A Look Inside Lyza Education's Strategy

In our first year at our Orchard flagship centre, one of Lyza Education CEO and founder Lizhang’s visionary goals was to immerse our students in real-world competitions, and in 2025 we delivered.

We proudly supported three students in participating in IDE Code Builder, while also hosting in-house competitions, and are now preparing our very first team for the Technovation Girls challenge, signaling our commitment to nurturing competitive young innovators.

Here are some thoughts that the team had on the competitions this year!

IDE Code Builder

Entering the competition space for the first time, many parents understandably asked: “Why should I send my child to compete?” It is a fair question. Unlike typical academic subjects, where you have test scores and clear grading rubrics, coding, and more broadly, computational thinking, does not always lend itself to a single, objective metric. While at Lyza Education we employ our ACES framework to evaluate students, we acknowledge no evaluation can ever be totally free from subjectivity or bias.

That is precisely why we believe competitions matter. They push students beyond the familiar structure of classroom tasks and exams. Under pressure, they have to think on their feet, debug under constraints, collaborate if it is team-based, and adapt to unexpected challenges. These real-world dynamics bring out facets of a student’s character and problem-solving approach that even the best curriculum or internal assessment might not reveal.

A student attending EdTech Quest 2025

And the results are already encouraging. In our debut year of competition participation, one of our students, Hridhaan, took on more than 50 participants and finished 5th place, a remarkable accomplishment on a first attempt. That performance shows not just raw skill, but the confidence, courage, and preparation that Lyza Education aims to build in each student.

Hridhaan attaining fifth place at IDE Code Builder

EdTech Quest and Lyza Scratch Challenge (LSC)

We designed EdTech Quest specifically as a competition for the top 30% of our students, not only to challenge them, but to show parents a new window into their child’s true capability. Many parents tell us they primarily see their child’s progress through Lyza’s ACES framework or through project showcases, and that leaves them wondering: How good is my child beyond these internal metrics? EdTech Quest fills that gap by giving students a competitive stage, and giving parents a clearer, external benchmark to understand how their child fares in coding compared to peers.

From our experience running EdTech Quest in June, a recurring feedback we received was about timing, many families already plan vacations or activities during the holidays. We fully support family time and do not want to take away from that, yet holiday periods are also the times when more students have the availability to compete. To balance both needs, we decided to run LSC (Lyza Scratch Challenge) across multiple Fridays instead. This format gives families greater flexibility, where you can choose a day that fits your schedule, and still allow your child to participate without disrupting precious family or holiday plans.

2026 and Beyond

At Lyza Education, we are excited to announce our participation in the Technovation Girls competition in 2026, marking our first venture into an international competition. This decision comes after careful consideration, as we often receive feedback from parents eager for their children to engage in such global platforms. While we understand the enthusiasm, we have always prioritised a thoughtful, long-term approach to competition participation.

A girl participating in EdTech Quest

Since 2024, our team has been meticulously evaluating various competitions to ensure they align with our educational philosophy. We believe in equipping our students with a solid foundation in coding before introducing them to competitive environments. This strategy ensures that when our students do compete, they do so with confidence and a genuine understanding of their skills.

👉 Ready to let your child change the world through the power of AI and technology? Contact us here for a trial to know more about how we can help your child, available at locations such as Orchard, Bukit Timah and Tampines!