United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad
| UKLO | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Linguistics Olympiad |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | Nationwide |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugurated | 2010 |
| Participants | c.3000 |
| Patron(s) | Christine Ohuruogu |
| Website | |
| http://www.uklo.org | |
The United Kingdom Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) is a linguistics competition for primary and secondary school students in the United Kingdom. The competition is divided into four levels: Breakthrough, Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced, with top-scoring entrants at Advanced level eligible for a follow-on round, and selection for participation in the International Linguistics Olympiad, one of the international science olympiads. In 2009, teams from two schools competed in a pilot competition, with the winners taking part in the international contest as guests of the All-Ireland Linguistics Olympiad. In 2010, an independent olympiad was created and has taken place every year since.
Problem-solving competitions in linguistics for secondary school students have been taking place around the world since the 1960s. In Russia, the Moscow and St Petersburg Linguistic Olympiads are credited with inspiring hundreds of young talented scholars to choose linguistics as an academic major and profession. Currently there are national contests within Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. There is also an International Linguistics Olympiad in which students from many countries compete, which began in 2003, and was first hosted by Bulgaria.
In 2009, two UK schools, the Manchester Grammar School and Downlands Community School, took part as guests in the Irish competition, and the winning team represented the UK at the International Olympiad. This triggered the foundation of a permanent committee for the UK Linguistics Olympiad, and the creation of a consortium of olympiads held in English-speaking countries, ELCLO, as a means for pooling resources with NACLO, AILO and OzCLO. The UKLO committee is chaired by Dick Hudson, with Neil Sheldon serving as vice-chair.
In 2010, 560 students from 28 schools entered, 223 at Foundation, and 337 at Advanced level. In 2011, 1165 entries were received from 49 schools, 349 at Foundation, and 816 at Advanced level. 2012 saw the introduction of the Intermediate level, with 1912 entries from 300 schools, 432 at Foundation, 498 at Intermediate and 982 at Advanced level. 2013 saw total entries number 2878, with 1069 at Foundation, 643 at Intermediate and 1166 at Advanced level.
The Olympiad has sponsorship and support from various organisations including the British Academy, The Linguistics Association of Great Britain, The British Association for Applied Linguistics, The Philological Society, Routes into Languages, The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, Sheffield University and The School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, Edinburgh University.
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