IATEFL English Competition 2026

At the start of April, the results of this year's IATEFL English competition were announced. This is an annual project organised across Slovenia in which secondary school students in both 3rd and 4th years take part in a range of different test activities to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities when it comes to the English language.

Every year, it begins with a school competition. Any students within the two year groups at Gimnazija Vič are able to take part and show their skills regarding aspects of English such as word formation, comprehension, and idioms and expressions.

The next stage is the regional one. For this, a range of tasks were prepared including a culture section which, for this year, had the focus of the well-known novel, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

The top group from that level went on to compete as part of the national stage. For this, they had to show their knowledge in the usual range of exercises while also showing their writing skills by producing an argumentative essay. The themes are chosen to allow students to write a strong piece of work that shows their opinions as well as their language ability, with one of the 2026 themes being linked to Artificial Intelligence while the other encouraged an element of reflection on the value of personal knowledge.

We are delighted to announce that Gimnazija Vič students did very well in this year's competition with special congratulations to those who achieved the top-level awards.

Gold awards went to:

• Tilen Grizila
• Neva Hudučeky
• Gea Kocen

Silver awards went to:

• Matic Izak
• Jan Stergar
• Niko Trpin

It is also important to thank the teachers of our school's English department who worked so hard with them through the year during the extra practice sessions and who prepared the additional material to help them prepare for the different levels of testing throughout the competition.