On Wednesday 2 September, St Peter’s College hosted the 2026 South Australian Computational Linguistics Olympiad (SACLO) in Memorial Hall, bringing together approximately 150 students from nine schools for an afternoon of language, logic and problem-solving.
Computational linguistics challenges students to discover how languages work by identifying patterns, interpreting unfamiliar language systems and applying logical reasoning. Students do not need to know the languages presented in the problems. Instead, they use evidence, deduction and teamwork to decipher meanings, grammatical structures and linguistic patterns. The competition provides a fascinating intersection between languages, mathematics, computer science and analytical thinking.
This year, we were delighted to welcome students from St Peter’s College, Pulteney Grammar School, The Heights School, St Peter’s Girls’ School, Concordia College, Pembroke School, Saint Ignatius’ College, Rivergum Christian College and Prince Alfred College.
St Peter’s College had a record seven teams and 28 students participating, our largest representation in SACLO to date. Before the formal competition began, students took part in a collaborative warm-up activity, working in mixed groups with students from other schools before returning to their teams for the main competition.
Competition was strong across both divisions. In the Senior division, the winning teams came from The Heights School and Concordia College, with two Concordia teams recognised among the winners. In the Junior division, two teams from Pembroke School and one from The Heights School were among the winners.
While St Peter’s College did not place this year, our students represented the School enthusiastically and embraced the challenge of working with unfamiliar languages and complex linguistic puzzles.
Congratulations to all participants and winning teams, and thank you to everyone who contributed to making SACLO 2026 at St Peter’s College a wonderful celebration of languages, collaboration and problem-solving.
Dr Marisol Garcia
Head of Faculty – Languages
