Regional round of the Logical Olympiad 2017 in the Central Bohemian Region

In Category A, Vojtech Flíček from the Jiráskovy Sady Primary School, Příbram II, defeated all 2428 opponents. The first place among the 2029 pupils of lower secondary schools in the Category B was won by Jiří Hrubant from the Legionářů Grammar School in Příbram. A curiosity – three sisters progressed into the regional round in the same category this year, and competed against one another. In Category C, Richard Bezděka, from the Dvořák Grammar School from Kralupy nad Vltavou, beat all 1,073 opponents from higher secondary schools of the Central Bohemian Region. 

Jiří Luka, the Principal of the Open Gate Primary School that hosted the competition, was a great host, and would be looking forward to the next year. The competition is supported by The Kellner Family Foundation and the Open Gate School.

Interview with Jiří Luka, Principal of Open Gate

What are the principal reasons for your school hosting the regional round of the Logical Olympiad? 

We host the regional rounds regularly, this was the sixth time. One of the reasons is the fact that our school aims to support talented children in all fields, including logical thinking.

The motto of the Logical Olympiad is Kant’s “Dare to use your own reason!”, and I believe this is also the principle of our work here at Open Gate – to teach the kids to think critically, to search for new solutions, especially novel ones, in brief – to teach them to find their way in a world that keeps changing, ever faster. 

What are the future plans of your school?

We definitely intend to continue our co-operation with Mensa, of course, including hosting the Logical Olympiad. We consider the exchange of experience in the field of working with gifted students a matter of the utmost importance. Some students of our primary school (which is selective on itself) meet every week in so-called extracurricular “Groups” – a project where we offer our students the opportunity to develop their talents further. The outputs from the groups are usually very interesting, and have a practical impact, which makes the children’s work all the more valuable.

What’s special about studying at Open Gate?

A lot; it is difficult to sum it up in a few sentences. As I already said, we are very selective in choosing our students. As early as in primary school, we go through the topics in depth, present them to the pupils using projects, and motivate them to prepare their own presentations. From the first year, a lot of English lessons are in the curriculum, so the pupils are able to pass the international Cambridge tests KET and PET as early as in the fourth and fifth years. The entire process culminates in the last two years of the grammar school, when students are being prepared besides the Czech version of A levels, also to pass a so-called International Baccalaureate – an international programme leading to an examination accepted in most developed countries, and in which our students summarily reach excellent results. There is no need to add that such results open the door to study at many prestigious universities. 

Besides the curricular profile, which is of course a must, we place great emphasis on the personal development of the character of each student, including their attitudes, values, and extracurricular activities. It is therefore commonplace that our pupils participate in various charity projects from their first year – they visit senior homes, a children’s home, they read for younger children in kindergartens, etc. Volunteering activities continue and evolve throughout the grammar school. We are teaching them to live not just for themselves, but for the community.

Compared to the past, what do you think of the changes in the methods of education?

The question is what you mean by “the past”. I am personally a great admirer of the teachings of Komensky, and I feel that his principles are the pillars that we should keep building on. They’re timeless.

It is obvious that education always reflects the needs of the era. As the current period is turbulent and fast-moving, it is difficult to estimate where the world and its technologies will be in five years. Therefore, it is all the more important to guide the children towards creativity, adaptability, flexibility, and in general, the ability to react to the situation. It is also necessary to give them healthy self-esteem and the opportunity to find their own place in the current world. It is clear that the dominance of frontal education as we know it from our time at school is not leading towards those aims. It is the ambition of Open Gate, of Mensa, and of many other organizations and schools to implement modern trends in education.

Related topics

• Logical Olympiad
• News and reports from the Logical Olympiad

8.11.2017

Regional round of the Logical Olympiad 2018 in the Central Bohemian Region 3.11.2017

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