Soweto school takes top honours in Siyavula #1MillionMaths challenge

7 Nov 2022

The winners of the 2022 annual Siyavula #1MillionMaths challenge were announced recently. In partnership with MTN and Unicef, the Siyavula e-learning platform hosts its #1MillionMaths challenge annually with the aim of helping Grade 10-12 learners prepare for their end-of-year exams through regular and sustained practice.

Curtis Nkondo ICT School competitors (from L-R): Thando Lukhele, Karabo Mulila, Phokuhle Mabuza,Thando Buthelezi,Ripfumelo Manganyi

In this year’s challenge, over 4.3 million maths questions were completed on the Siyavula platform in September. This was a new record for the platform, which offers an integrated online learning and exam preparation experience for learners across South Africa to practise and master the concepts they need to understand in order to excel in Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

The top #1MillionMaths Mathematics schools for 2022 are: Curtis Nkondo ICT School in Soweto, followed by Sihayo High School in KZN, and Stanza Bopape Secondary in Pretoria.

The top #1MillionMaths Physical Sciences schools are: Greenfields Secondary, Curro Academy Soshanguve, and Prestige College Hammanskraal.

Thousands of learners from schools across the country took part in the annual challenge.

“If South Africa wants to expand the number of students who can pursue higher education, especially in STEM subjects, it is imperative that matric scores in Mathematics and Physical Sciences be improved,” says Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, General Manager: MTN SA Foundation.

“We know that achieving good results in STEM subjects opens doors for learners to further education and exciting, in-demand career opportunities, and we are extremely proud of the work that Siyavula is doing for young South Africans.”

In 2021, 44% of all Grade 10 Mathematics learners and almost 60% of Grade 12 Physical Sciences learners in South Africa accessed Siyavula’s online textbooks. To date this year, 29 million questions have been completed by learners on the platform, and in September, Siyavula reached the milestone number of 100 million questions answered since inception in 2012.

About the 2022 #1MillionMaths top-performing schools

Curtis Nkondo ICT School, situated in Emdeni South, Soweto, is one of the top performing school of specialisation focusing on STEM subjects, attracts top learners who required to take pure Mathematics and Physical Sciences to matric. As an ICT school, all learners work using laptops, and teachers use interactive whiteboards in their classrooms. During #1MillionMaths, the school completed nearly 160 000 questions, and boasts two learners who received top three places in Siyavula’s final nationwide learner challenge.

Second placed school Sihayo High is situated in Nqutu, a rural area in KZN. Although it is a technical school where all learners take Mathematics, the school does not have access to high tech resources, and not all learners have their own cell phones. What the school does have - like Curtis Nkondo - are dedicated teachers who are determined to see their learners excel.

Sihayo High teachers Teboho Motaung and Sabelo Mseluku were introduced to Siyavula at a workshop in Durban and were determined to use the platform to help their learners prepare for exams. Even though not all learners have their own phones - this did not stop the learners from Sihayo High from reaching for their dreams. Learners share cell phones so that everyone gets a chance to practise what they’re learning in class. Their success is evident in the number of learners using the platform on a regular basis. Around 300 Grade 10 learners have, for example, completed nearly 500 questions each so far this year.

"It’s so encouraging to watch hundreds of thousands of learners across South Africa flock to the platform annually, all in an effort to better themselves. It’s been a much-deserved record-breaking year for Siyavula, and all as result of the commitment they put into doing whatever it takes for South Africans learners to succeed,” concludes Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.

Partnerships with Unicef and MTN have extended the reach of the learning platform, enabling Siyavula to reach learners in rural areas and under-resourced schools, while a partnership with MTN Ayoba for example, enables customers to receive a daily Mathematics question directly from Siyavula and access the Siyavula micro-app through their Ayoba app.

Siyavula is free to use and zero-rated on all major networks. All a learner needs is an internet-enabled device. For more information or to register and use the platform, visit www.siyavula.com.