Of the nine students who took part in the preliminary round of the All-Ireland Linguistics Olympiad (AILO) on Wednesday 2^nd February, we are delighted to announce that two of our students qualified in the top 100 in the whole of Ireland. Two Fifth Year students, Jake Baker and Oliwier Jakubiec have been invited to participate in the All-Ireland National Final on Wednesday March 9^th in DCU. A fantastic achievement! 

This is a competition in which secondary school students develop their own strategies for solving problems in fascinating languages from around the globe.  

Students must use their ingenuity to solve Puzzles such as deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics, decoding numerical spy codes, and interpreting ancient Mayan poetry. 

No prior knowledge of linguistics or a second language is required, as even the hardest problems require only logical ability, patient work, and a willingness to think around corners. 

Congratulations also to Marie Cranny, Seán Breen and Leo Bramrock from Third Year, Chloe Ryan from Second Year and Seán Bradley, Clodagh Broderick and Lily O’Connor from First Year who also did took part in this prestigious problem solving competition.

AILO introduces students to linguistics (i.e. the study of human language) and to the application of logic to problems of language understanding and translation. The goal is to develop students’ problem-solving skills and to inspire them to consider the fascinating range of Careers at the intersection of computing, linguistics, and language. 

If you would like to find out more, contact either Ms Marie Cumiskey or Ms Tara O’Sullivan.