Maragon pupils bring back silver for SA

Maragon pupils Dylan Rheeders and Marco Pretorius, both members of the school’s Robotics Club, represented South Africa at the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) on the weekend of 15-17 November in Jakarta, Indonesia.

WRO brings together young people from all over the world to develop their creativity, design and problem solving skills through stimulating and educational robot competitions and activities.

Pupils who took part in the robotics competition were challenged on many different levels and across numerous curriculum-relevant subjects.

The two young Maragon pupils won the silver medal in the open category of the WRO. United Arab Emirates won the competition and Germany came third.

A silver medal is the highest level of achievement any South African team has ever reached at the WRO.

A total of 36 countries participated in the Olympiad with 385 teams, of which 97 teams were entered in the open category.

The majority of teams were sponsored through their governments and corporations. Maragon pupils were not sponsored and were still able to outperform some of the strongest and most affluent countries.

“Robotics will continue to grow in our country given the exceptional talent which can be attested to in these two young and exceptional ambassadors,” said the school’s marketing manager Belinda Espag.

Details: www.maragon.co.za, www.wroboto.org