AILO is the acronym for The All Ireland Linguistics Olympiad. This is a problem solving competition, which uses obscure and unfamiliar languages. Participants rely on their logical and problem solving abilities. This year was the second year that students from Presentation College took part in the competition. Thirty-four students from First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Year competed in the First Round of this very prestigious competition. 

The aim is to find the top problem solvers in Ireland. Students attempt to solve language-based problems involving unusual languages. This year the languages were: Oscan, Pitjantjatjara, Slovene, Maltese and Ndebele. Students are not expected to be familiar with the languages. There are always five different languages in each competition. Participants are given clues and expected to use the information given to either translate or explain how the language works.

We were delighted to find out that Julie Becherova was one of the top one hundred students from all over Ireland. This is Julie’s second year to enter the competition. Julie will compete in the Final in DCU in March. The top four students will then represent Ireland against the rest of the world in the International Linguistics Olympiad in South Korea this summer. We wish Julie all the best as she prepares for the Final.