The SA Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) annual awards function took place on the 24th of September at the Kopanong Conference Centre in Benoni. During this ceremony, prizes were awarded in the two premier mathematics competions in the country, the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) for high school learners and the South African Mathematics Challenge (SAMC) for primary school learners.
Nicholas Kroon and Aaron Naidu received awards as top performers of the 2016 South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO).
Liberty and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the sponsors of the SAMO presented the SAMO achievers’ awards. The gold medallist in the senior division is Nicholas Kroon he has been a medallist since 2012 and also represented South Africa at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 2015 and 2016. Nicholas is a very down to earth learner who enjoys solving mathematics problems.
Aaron Naidu came out tops in the junior division with the gold Dawie du Toit medal for the second year in a row. Aaron Naidu is a grade 9 learner at Eden College Durban in Kwazulu Natal .When preparing for the SAMO Aaron Naidu tries to work through past papers and solutions of SAMO and other Olympiads. “I make attending the weekly Siyanqoba Olympiad Training Programme and going over past SAMO question papers a priority. I find that just being committed to these two things helps me progress,” he explained.
The Siyanqoba Regional Olympiad Training Programme, sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, is a programme which concentrates on developing problem solving skills. Learners who participate in the programme have a higher chance to qualify for the second round or final round of the SAMO, are selected for the ASSA Mathematics Team Competition teams, or to be invited to the SAMF’s annual Olympiad camp hosted by the University of Stellenbosch.
Another flagship project of the SAMF is the South African Mathematics Challenge (SAMC) for grades 4-7 learners. The award to the top performing school was awarded to Sweet Valley Primary School for the second year in a row. Other schools which were awarded prizes included Somcuba Primary School in Nelspruit (Best participating School), Zwelihle Primary in Hermanus (Best Performing Quantile 1), Nyanda Primary in Pietermaritzburg (Best Performing Quantile 2), Amazibu Primary in Amazimtoti (Best Performing Quantile 3), Laerskool Die Poort in Pretoria (Best Performing Quantile 4), Sweet Valley Primary (Best Performing Quantile 5) and Roedean School in Johannesburg (Best Performing New School).
Professor Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director at the SA Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) would like to congratulate all the top achievers. “Tonight the best mathematically inclined minds in the country were honoured and this is a great achievement for all the medallists. Only a few will become medallists but thousands of others will benefit from the experience of participating in the SAMO. Mathematics is an essential gateway subject that is essential for opening up scarce-skill careers in medicine, aviation, engineering, accounting and more,” he said.
St Andrew’s College’s Nicholas Kroon (18) says he is just a regular matric who enjoys sport and reading and is working hard in preparation for his final matric exams. But there is one key thing that sets Kroon apart from his peers: he is a maths whizz and his performance history in both the local and international maths Olympiads is testament to that.
Ask Kroon what it is that sets him apart from his fellow matrics, and he will humbly tell you “nothing”; but take a look at his academic history and it is clear that Kroon is a gifted mathematician. Not only did he recently score full marks in his prelim maths exam, but he made the top 10 competed in the annual South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) since Gr 8 and represented South Africa at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) for the past two years.
But what makes him so good at maths? Kroon modestly admits that “it just comes naturally” but that is not the whole story. Yes, it is true that there may be a natural inclination towards maths considering that Kroon’s father is a maths teacher, but Kroon also spend many hours a week practicing difficult maths problems to perfect his problem-solving abilities. Indeed, says Kroon, this is one of the things he enjoys most about taking part SAMO every year. ‘School maths is mostly mechanical,’ explains Kroon. ‘You just need to understand how to solve the equations, SAMO is different. It requires a lot of creative thinking to tackle a problem and is not nearly as straightforward as the maths problems at school.’
Problem solving is something Kroon has spent a vast amount of time honing his skills at lately as preparations for the six learners who made up Team SA for IMO, hosted in Hong Kong in July 2016, began back in December 2015. It was a lot of work, says Kroon, and a lot of fun as well. ‘In the ten days we were in Hong Kong, we managed to see many sites and had the opportunity to make new friends who share a similar interest.’ This, he says is refreshing, as many people view people who are good at maths as weird. But Kroon says he ‘just a normal guy who enjoys all the things other people do and that you do not have to be weird to be good at maths.’
While participating in events like SAMO and IMO is not easy Kroon admits that he sometimes has no idea how to start a problem he loves the feeling of finishing a problem. However, this is something Kroon says throws many young people at school: ‘Learners often lack confidence in their ability to solve a problem, this makes them see this critical subject as “difficult”’, says Kroon, ‘but luckily this is something that gets easier the more you practise’.
This is wonderful advice for the youth of South Africa. After all, maths is an essential gateway subject that is essential for opening up scarce-skill careers in medicine, aviation, engineering, accounting and more.
Speaking about careers, when asked what he will be putting his keen mathematical mind towards next year, Kroon shyly confesses that ‘I have not quite figured that out yet but I’ll probably pursue a BSc with majors in both maths and computer science.’
2016 SOUTH AFRICAN MATHEMATICS OLYMPIAD MEDALLISTS
Junior division (Grades 8 to 9)
- Aaron Naidu Grade 9 Eden College Durban
- Mohamed Taariq Mowzer Grade 9 Fairbairn College
- Adri Wessels Grade 9 Curro College Durbanville
- Emil van der Walt Grade 9 Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
- Sean van Wyk Grade 9 Van Wyk Home School
- Kayrav Naidoo Grade 9 Crawford College (La Lucia)
- Liam Foxcroft Grade 9 Bishops Diocesan College
- Wyse Ejih Ebbah Grade 8 Greensprings School
- Retief Louw Grade 9 Felixton College
- Andi Qu Grade 8 St. John’s College
Senior division (Grades 10 to 12)
- Nicholas Kroon Grade 12 St Andrew’s College
- David Broodryk Grade 12 Westerford High School
- Mohamed Yaseen Mowzer Grade 12 Fairbairn College
- Bronson Rudner Grade 12 South African College High School
- Tim Schlesinger Grade 10 Rondebosch Boys’ High School
- Andrew McGregor Grade 12 Rondebosch Boys’ High School
- Razeen Parker Grade 10 Rondebosch Boys’ High School
- Sanjiv Ranchod Grade 12 Westerford High School
- Mu-aath Upadhey Grade 12 Westerford High School
- SangEun Lee Grade 12 St George’s Grammar School
OTHER NATIONAL AWARDS TO LEARNERS AND SCHOOLS
Best performing African learner
- (Junior) Wyse E Ebbah Grade 8 Greensprings School
- (Senior) Mpho Nkwana Grade 12 Clapham High School
Best learner from outside South Africa
- (Junior) Wyse E Ebbah Grade 8 Greensprings School
- (Senior) Ga Ram Park Grade 12 Maru A Pula School
- Best Girl learner (Junior) Jiyoon Jeon Grade 9 Rustenburg Girls’ High School
Top participating school
- Wynberg Boys’ High School
Top participating new school
- Nellmapius Secondary School
Best performing school
- Fairbairn College
2016 South African Mathematics Challenge AWARDS TO SCHOOLS
Best participating school
- Somcuba Primary school
Best performing school per quintile
- Quintile 1- Zwelihle Primary
- Quintile 2- Nyanda Primary
- Quintile 3- Amazibu Primary
- Quintile 4-Laerskool die Poort
- Quintile 5-Sweet Valley
Best performing new school
- Roedean School
Best overall performing school
- Sweet Valley Primary school
