Almost 50% of South African Mathematics Challenge participants are girls
Publicity 62
On Wednesday, 30 July, thousands of primary school learners will be competing in the final round of the South African Mathematics Challenge. Co-ordinated by the South African Mathematics Foundation and the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa and sponsored by Sasol, the Challenge aims to breed a generation of learners who enjoy the subject.
“The questions are designed to improve theoretical know-how, the application of knowledge in new situations, rational assessment and general mathematical thinking,” explains Prof Johann Engelbrecht, executive director of the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF). “It is essential to mention that the Challenge is not really about competition or how good you are at mathematics; it is more about participation and learners who find the papers challenging can enter with another learner as a pair.”
Out of almost 108 000 learners that wrote the first round in May, 10 817 learners from 416 schools across the country advanced to the final round. In order to have advanced to the final round learners needed a result of more than 60% in the first paper.
Out of the 10 817 learners that will be writing the final round 49% are girls. A total of 3149 are African (boys and girls combined), 689 Asian and 838 Coloured.
Learners’ achievements in the final round will be acknowledged by awarding Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates based on their results. In 2013, a total of 3929 certificates were issued of which 579 where Gold, 1883 Silver and 1467 Bronze. The City of Tshwane had the highest number of certificates issued followed by Cape Town and East London.
Pam Mudhray, Group Community Affairs manager at Sasol says that the Challenge is a step toward improving the South African STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) landscape. “We are very proud of this initiative (the Challenge) and the number of participating learners that is increasing each year. Sasol is committed to the development of South Africa; we recognise the challenges in education and together with the South African Mathematics Foundation we hope to advance mathematics education and development in South Africa.”
Participating in the Challenge ultimately prepares the learners for the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO), aimed at Grade 8 to 12 learners, and even for international participation in high school Olympiads such as the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (PAMO) or the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
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