// Computer Science Competitions

Learn to Capture the Flag.

Informatics competition and coding course tracks for Year 9-12 — from College Board AP Cybersecurity theory to live Capture-the-Flag at the International Cybersecurity Olympiad. Built for total beginners; no coding required to start.

student@ace:~$ nmap -sV target.ctf
student@ace:~$ sqlmap -u login --dump
student@ace:~$ cat flag.txt
ACE{you_just_solved_your_first_box}
Request Access Invite-only pilot · Not part of today's public checkout
See the Two Courses

Two Courses. One High-Leverage Path.

Theory builds the map; hands-on practice wins the medal. Together they prepare your child for AP Cybersecurity, ICOA 2026, and the ICO beyond.

🗺️

Understand First

Every concept starts with a real-world analogy and a clear "why", then connects to exactly how it's used to capture a flag. Zero-jargon, beginner-first.

Then Attack

No passive watching. Students run real commands, break real (sandboxed) systems, and pull real flags — the skill competitions actually test.

🎯

Triple Payoff

One body of work feeds three goals: the AP Cybersecurity exam, the International Cybersecurity Olympiad, and the ICO — practise once, use it three times.

Computer Science Pilot Tracks

Start with the theory, the hands-on track, or run both. These tracks are invite-only while the public launch focuses on AMC, AIMO and JSO.

Theory · AP-aligned

AP Cyber Security

Year 9-12 · 5 units · 20 lessons

The complete cybersecurity worldview, aligned to the College Board AP Cybersecurity framework. Every concept is welded to a real Capture-the-Flag technique — so theory becomes attack, not just memorisation.

Invite-only pilot
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  • 5 units: People · Foundations · Networks · Devices · Apps & Data
  • Cryptography deep-dive: hashing, AES, RSA
  • Web vulnerabilities: SQL injection, XSS
  • Malware, forensics & AI-security concepts
  • Aligned to the 2027 AP Cybersecurity exam
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See full curriculum →

Wondering about the coding competition itself? Read our Australian Informatics Olympiad 2026 guide — dates, format and how to prepare.

The Five Olympiad Domains

Every competition flag falls into one of these. We cover all five.

🔐
Cryptography
Break codes, ciphers, RSA & hashes to reveal the flag
🌐
Web Security
SQL injection, XSS & auth bypass on live targets
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Forensics
Dig flags out of files, images & network captures
⚙️
Reversing & Pwn
Reverse-engineer programs & exploit memory bugs
🤖
AI Security
Prompt injection & adversarial ML — ICOA's unique edge
No Coding Required to Start

Built for Total Beginners

We assume your child has never opened a command line or written a line of code. Every lesson starts from "what is this thing for", uses plain-English analogies, and gives instant feedback as they practise.

  • Plain-English first — jargon comes later, with context
  • Interactive, mobile-friendly lessons with instant feedback
  • Python taught as "fill the template", not "become a programmer"
Why two courses?

AP Cyber Security builds the complete map — the defender's worldview the College Board exam tests, and the theory behind every attack.

International Cybersecurity Olympiad is the hands-on dojo — where that theory turns into real flags captured at the keyboard. Strongest results come from running both together.

Interested in the CS pilot?

Send us the student's year level, coding background and target competition.

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Public self-serve checkout currently covers AMC, AIMO and JSO.