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Maths team to represent South Africa at the 2018 PAMO selected

Tuesday, 08 May 2018

Maths team to represent South Africa at the 2018 PAMO selected

The 26th Pan African Mathematics Olympiad PAMO/PAMO(G) will take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 23rd to 30th June 2018. The South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) selected six high school learners to represent South Africa at the annual event; the three girls will also compete against other African girls in PAMO-G, which is the mathematics Olympiad for girls.

PAMO aims to emulate the African youth and it contributes to the integration and detection of new talent in mathematics.  The objective is to encourage mathematical talent and exchange information on curricula and teaching methods in mathematics across the African continent. This great opportunity will not only open up doors for these young mathletes, it will also broaden their problem solving skills. They will learn how to take on mathematical problems differently as they interact with learners from other African countries.

Each participating country is required to select a team consisting of 3 boys and 3 girls. The contestants will write two question papers covering algebra, geometry, number theory and combinatorics.

The South African team was selected from the top learners who participated in the 2017 Final Round of the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO) and other Olympiad training programmes organised by the SAMF. The following learners have been selected:

Kgaugelo Bopape                            Grade 10                             Horizon International High School                                                                                                                                      (Johannesburg)

Malwande Nkonyane                     Grade 12                             Horizon International High School                                                                                                                       (Johannesburg)

Danielle Kleyn                                   Grade 10                             Hoërskool Parel Vallei (Somerset West)

Klara Eybers                                      Grade 11                             Hoërskool Menlopark (Pretoria)

Amber De Decker                            Grade 12                             Herschel Girls' High School (Cape Town)

Razeen Parker                                  Grade 12                             Rondebosch Boys’ High School (Cape Town)

The team, accompanied by leaders Dylan Nelson and Lauren Deny, will go up against other talented individuals from approximately 12 other African countries, such as Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal. South Africa has a proud track record of being in the top three since 2004. Malwande Nkonyane, Klara Eybers and Kgaugelo Bopape competed in the 2017 PAMO; Klara Eybers and Malwande Nkonyane won bronze medals.

Professor Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director at the SAMF wishes the team all the best. “This will be a great learning experience for these young mathletes as they have been training very hard for this opportunity. The PAMO is a great way for learners to improve their problem solving ability and learn from different countries on how to tackle questions,” said Professor Engelbrecht.

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