Lesson 10: Mini Project: A Marks Report and What to Learn Next

Time to use everything you have learned. We will build a small class marks report: it takes students' marks, gives each a grade, and prints the class average and the topper.

Step 1: the data

A list of dictionaries holds the students.

students = [
    {"name": "Sita", "marks": 72},
    {"name": "Ram", "marks": 85},
    {"name": "Gita", "marks": 38},
    {"name": "Hari", "marks": 91},
]

Step 2: the full program

def grade(marks):
    if marks >= 80:
        return "Distinction"
    elif marks >= 60:
        return "First division"
    elif marks >= 40:
        return "Pass"
    return "Fail"

students = [
    {"name": "Sita", "marks": 72},
    {"name": "Ram", "marks": 85},
    {"name": "Gita", "marks": 38},
    {"name": "Hari", "marks": 91},
]

total = 0
topper = students[0]
for s in students:
    print(f"{s['name']:<6} {s['marks']:>3}  {grade(s['marks'])}")
    total += s["marks"]
    if s["marks"] > topper["marks"]:
        topper = s

print("Average:", total / len(students))
print("Topper:", topper["name"])

Output:

Sita    72  First division
Ram     85  Distinction
Gita    38  Fail
Hari    91  Distinction
Average: 71.5
Topper: Hari

Read it slowly: a function for grades, a list of dictionaries, a loop that prints and adds up, and an if that tracks the best student. The :<6 and :>3 parts just line up the columns.

Make it your own

• Add a count of how many students passed.
• Read the marks from a file instead of typing them in.
• Ask the user for the marks with input() in a loop.
• Save the final report to a text file.

Where to go next

• Practise daily. Twenty minutes every day beats three hours once a week.
• Learn more Python: modules and packages, classes, and working with data.
• Pick a direction: web development (with Django or Flask), data analysis, automation scripts, or artificial intelligence.
• Take our other Mero Courses to learn JavaScript and the basics of AI.

Congratulations, you have finished the course. Keep building small programs, because that is how programmers learn.