PUPILS from 107 High Schools across the country will compete in the final round of the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) for the title of South Africa’s top mathematics pupils in 2013, on 9 September.
Organised by the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), and sponsored by Harmony Gold Mining Company and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the SAMO is the biggest Olympiad of its kind on the continent.
It consists of three rounds, the first for which 81 440 learners in Grades 8-12 from nine provinces attempted to solve mathematical problems that are not part of the normal school curriculum.
Following the first round in March, 11 847 top performing pupils moved on to the second round that took place in May.
From the 199 learners that will be competing in the final round, 10 juniors (Grades 8-9) and 10 seniors (Grades 10 to 12) will be honoured as the country’s top young mthematicians during the annual award ceremony in Gauteng on 12 October.
About 60 top performing learners will then be invited to attend the first of three Olympiad training camps in December during which the selection of the South African team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in 2014 will start.
“The IMO 2014 will be taking place in Cape Town during July next year,” said Prof Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director of the SAMF. “It is the first time, since the inception of the IMO in 1959, that it will be hosted on African soil and we want to make sure we have the country’s most promising young mathematicians wearing the green and gold blazer at the University of Cape Town from 3 to 13 July.”
