Celebrating the country’s brilliant young minds
Harmony, proud sponsor of the South African Mathematics Olympiad, hosted some of our country’s top academic performers at the annual Mathematics Olympiad Ceremony in Durban, Saturday 15 October 2005.
The ceremony, a highlight in the school calendar, recognised extraordinary achievement in mathematical proficiency and skills of Grade 8 to 12 students by awarding the top student’s in each category with honorary gold medals.
Two students from Pretoria were selected as the overall winners. Dirk Oosthuizen, a grade 12 student from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, was the overall winner of the senior division, with Henry Thackeray , grade 8 student from St Alban’s College , receiving top honours in the junior division.
For almost four decades, the South African Mathematics Olympiad has aimed to promote mathematics and associated skills by exposing students and teachers to creative problem solving strategies and techniques. The Olympiad, consisting of a senior division (grade 10 to 12) and junior division (grade 8, 9), is held annually and attracted a record entry of almost 35 000 students from 798 schools throughout the country in 2005.
‘We are proud to be part of one of the country’s established initiatives to empower our youth by promoting mathematics through practical applications and problem solving,’ commented Ferdi Dippenaar, Harmony’s Director of Corporate Affairs. He added that ‘corporate institutions should take more responsibility in securing and supporting these type of initiatives in order to sustain educational programmes amongst our youth’.
The Olympiad is organised by the South African Mathematics Foundation in cooperation with the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa, the South African Mathematical Society and the ‘SuidAfrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns’ and is sponsored by Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.
South African mathematics Olympiad winners 2005
| Alex Backwell | grade 9 | St Stithians Boys’ College |
| David Beeton | grade 9 | St Stithians Boys’ College |
| Henri Boshoff | grade 9 | Hoërskool Louis Trichardt |
| Francois Conradie | grade 8 | Hoërskool de Kuilen |
| Koeun Lee | grade 8 | Westerford High School |
| Tomoya Ogino | grade 8 | St. Henry’s Marist Brothers College |
| Morné Stander | grade 9 | Hoërskool Brackenfell |
| Henry Thackeray | grade 8 | St Alban’s College |
| Leon van Wyk | grade 9 | Hoërsool Parel Vallei |
| Anton Vlasov | grade 8 | Benoni Christian School |
| Charles Bradshaw | grade 11 | Rondebosch Boys’ High School |
| Dirk-B Coetzee | grade 11 | Hoërskool Stellenbosch |
| Simey de Klerk | grade 12 | Hoërskool Vredendal |
| Lafras Eksteen | grade 12 | Hoërskool Waterkloof |
| Eben Maré | grade 12 | Cornwall Hill College |
| Yumna Moosa | grade 12 | Diocesan College |
| Dirk Oosthuizen | grade 12 | Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool |
| Gayle Sher | grade 12 | Reddam House College |
| Carl Veller | grade 11 | St John’s College |
| Patricia Wang | grade 11 | St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria) |
For more details contact:
Ellie Olivier
South African Mathematics Foundation
Office: +27 12 392 9323
ellie@samf.ac.za
Vusi Magadana
Harmony – Investor Relations Officer
Office: +27 11 684 0149
Mobile: +27(0)72 157 5986
vusi.magadana@harmony.co.za