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South African Maths Olympiad

Maths boffs survive second round

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:22

The provincial winners of the second round of the prestigious South African Maths Olympiad (SAMO), the premier inter-schools mathematics competition in the country were recognised. The prize-giving ceremony, which honoured the top three junior and senior achievers in the Mathematics Olympiads, was held at Diocesan College (Bishops) in Rondebosch.

The SAMO competition is hosted by the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) and sponsored by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and Harmony Gold.

“One of SAICA’s prime functions is to rapidly grow the number of the nation’s prospective accountants. By so doing we contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s economic prosperity,” says Gugu Makhanya, project director of transformation and growth at SAICA. “It is a well known fact that apart from sharpening the mind, mathematics is about the discovery and validation of problem solving methods.” Makhanya adds.

The SAMO is the biggest Olympiad in South Africa with 58 422 learners from 884 schools who participated in the first round on 16 March this year.

“During the second round a total of 10 782 learners wrote the paper nationally, all of whom scored a mark higher than 50% for the paper over the two categories – one each on junior (grades 8 and 9) and senior level (grades 10 to 12).” says Prof Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director of the SAMF. “These learners should be extremely proud of themselves as coming out tops is not an easy task.”

The top 100 senior students in the second round qualify to write the third round and the top ten juniors countrywide will also be invited to participate. The outstanding learners from the third round will then be awarded with an array of accolades at the SAMF Annual Awards Function on October 15 at Lagon Beach Hotel, Cape Town.

The Cape Town provincial junior winners are:

1st - S Lee from Diocesan College (Bishops)
2nd - MM McKechnie from Diocesan College (Bishops)
3rd - WN Black from Diocesan College (Bishops)

The Cape Town provincial senior winners are:

1st - SJ Wentzel from Westerford High School
2nd - R Spencer from Westerford High School
3rd - M Greeff from Herschel Girls High School