by Sherri Hogan

Holland College's Business Information Technology (BIT) program recently hosted the Annual PEI High School Programming Competition. Participating high schools included Bluefield, Charlottetown Rural, Kensington and Westisle. Eight teams, totalling 16 students, competed in the event. The top 3 winning teams were from Bluefield High School.

Designed to foster an interest in computer programming and problem solving and to encourage PEI high school students who have an interest and ability in these areas, the competition was a great opportunity for young people of like interests and abilities. In an atmosphere of friendly competitiveness, students in teams of two, wrote computer programs to implement the solutions to problems of varying levels of difficulty. All teams completed at least 7 of the 10 programs, with some teams completing all 10 programs in the allotted 1 ? hours.

"The level of programming skills and interest in our high school students today is incredible," said Don Carroll, Program Manager, Business, Media and Computer Studies at Holland College. "This competition has reinforced just how far the skill level has come and has allowed the students to match their skills in an enjoyable way against other students from across the province. The competition also allows us at Holland College to let these students know how we can help them further develop their skills in this area."

The first place team received $1500, second place $1000 and third place $500. Bluefield, the winning school, also takes home a $1000 cash prize, bragging rights and the trophy, which they are entitled to display for the year following their victory, highlighting their current supremacy in computer programming at the high school level in PEI!