Eavan Gleeson of Holy Faith Secondary School , in Clontarf, describes a transition-year trip with a difference

My transition year has been about travel. A trip to Germany last September and a ski trip to Italy in February were planned events, but the highlight so far was really unexpected.

Last November, based on my Junior Cert results in maths and science, I qualified to take part in the Irish Junior Science Olympiad, at Dublin City University. From this national competition six students were to be selected to represent Ireland at the International Junior Science Olympiad, in Indonesia, a month later. I came fourth, and I was thrilled to find I had qualified. It meant I had to suspend normal transition-year activities for November to study Leaving Cert physics, chemistry and biology.

My team-mates, Caitríona Kelly, Nicholas Croke, John Collison, David Whyte and Patrick Kerr, were from all over Ireland. We met up beforehand at DCU and, after a night at the McEniff Skylon Hotel, to get to know each other, we flew, with two DCU lecturers, via Amsterdam, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to Yogyakarta, on the island of Java.

Java has a tropical climate and an average temperature in December of 30 degrees - but it is also the rainy season, so we had some downpours.

Students representing 37 countries took part in the opening ceremony. Over the next six days there were three exams: a multiple choice, a theoretical paper and an experiment. These took place in Gadjah Mada University. The standard was third level, so our DCU team leaders, Michael Cotter and Paraic James, were delighted when four of our team got bronze medals at the closing ceremony.

Interspersed between the exams were excursions. The highlights of these included a rickshaw ride, a welcome party at Keraton (the sultan's palace) and a visit to Prambanan Temple and Borobudur Temple - considered by some to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We also visited Mount Merapi, the volcano overlooking the city; a batik factory; and a beautiful beach. We had a police escort wherever we went, and television cameras followed us, too.

We stayed in five-star hotels, but we didn't get to sample much Indonesian cuisine, as potatoes were often provided! Exotic plants, palm trees and beautiful swimming pools where we could take a midnight dip made it idyllic.

The insect bites were the downside, as well as five vaccinations before I left. Having to wear official IJSO T-shirts all the time instead of our own clothes proved to be a fashion disaster, for the boys as much as the girls! All in all, though, travelling to southeastern Asia and meeting people from all over the world was a transition-year highlight to remember forever.

The International Junior Science Olympiad is at www.ijso-smp.org. The Irish Junior Science Olympiad is at www.euso.dcu.ie/ijso/home.htm