Young mathematicians excel in Olympiad

On 5 September more than 6 000 learners in Grades 4-7 took part in the final round of the South African Mathematics Challenge, sponsored by Edcon. The Challenge consists of two rounds and participants can take part as individuals or in pairs. Learners scoring at least 60% in the final round are awarded with gold, silver or bronze certificates.

On 6 September the country's top 200 high school learners competed in the final round of the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO). The SAMO is the biggest Olympiad in South Africa, sponsored by Harmony Gold Mining Company, and aims to promote mathematics as a subject.

Top schools from Cape Town

Prof. Johann Engelbrecht, executive director at SAMF, says that the Challenge is not an end in itself, but is intended as a vehicle to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning of mathematics. "Learners who take part in the Olympiad benefit from the exposure to mathematics that is not based on the curriculum, which assist them to think out-of-the-box," says Prof. Engelbrecht.

The three top performing schools are Star College (Durban), Bishops (Cape Town), and Rondebosch Boys' High School (Cape Town). Medallists for the SAMO will receive their awards at the Annual Gala Event held in Durban on 13 October.

Five high school learners departed on Friday, 7 September for Tunisia where the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad will be taking place from 8 to 16 September. They are Chris Kim (Grade 10, Reddam House College Constantia in Cape Town), Lauren Denny (Grade 11, Rustenburg Girls' High School in Cape Town), Nicholas Cheng (Grade 12, Fairmont High School in Cape Town), Shaylan Lalloo (Grade 11, Pearson High School in Port Elizabeth) and Dani Hove (Grade 10, British International College in Johannesburg). The South African team is joined by team leaders Dirk Basson (University of Stellenbosch) and Phil Labuschagne (University of Cape Town). The team will return to South Africa on 18 September. Harmony Gold Mining Company is sponsoring the team's travel expenses.

Inter-Provincial Olympiad

The Southern African Inter-Provincial Mathematics Olympiad (SAIPMO) has been a regular event since 1990 and is sponsored by the Actuarial Society of South Africa. Each province enters teams of ten - junior (Grades 8 and 9) and senior (Grades 10, 11 and 12) on levels A, B, C. The Olympiad takes place in two stages - the first is individual multiple choice paper and the second is a paper with ten difficult questions that the teams can solve together, submitting only one set of answers. This year the SAIPMO takes place on 29 September.

"The SAMF is extremely proud of all South Africa's learners for taking part in these competitions," concludes Prof. Engelbrecht. "With such dedication we will be sure to make our mark at the International Mathematical Olympiad of 2014 that will be hosted by South Africa in Cape Town."