City maths boffins shine in SA’s gold

PROUD CHAMPIONS: The South African team that went to Senegal for the Mathematics Olympiad comprised (back row) Liam Baker (team leader), Ralph McDougall, Mpho Nkwana, (front row) Hannah Clayton, Sangeun Lee, Timothy Schlesinger and Dylan Nelson (team leader).

PROUD CHAMPIONS: The South African team that went to Senegal for the Mathematics Olympiad comprised (back row) Liam Baker (team leader), Ralph McDougall, Mpho Nkwana, (front row) Hannah Clayton, Sangeun Lee, Timothy Schlesinger and Dylan Nelson (team leader).

Published May 3, 2016

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Sandiso Phaliso

SOUTH Africa took gold at the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad (Pamo), with five of the six-member team hailing from Cape Town.

The maths boffins beat Tunisia and Ivory Coast in the finals of the competition held in Senegal from April 23 to 30. Eight countries competed.

The South African team members are Sang Eun Lee from St George’s Grammar High; Ralph McDougall from Curro Durbanville Private School; Timothy Schlesinger from Rondebosch Boys’ High; Hannah Clayton from Rustenburg Girls’ High; Rauseenah Upadhey from Westerford High; and Mpho Nkwana from Clapham High in Pretoria.

Lee, 17, was also crowned African Queen of Mathematics in the competition for girls. This is the second time she won the title.

South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) spokesperson Zanele Ncongolo said the Olympiad is considered to be the world’s toughest for high school pupils and the questions cover algebra, geometry, number theory and probability.

The South African team won gold throughout the competition.

For Lee, the annual contest was also to prove she could do well in her final Grade 12 exams.

Speaking to the Cape Times yesterday, she said participating in the contest was a great opportunity and was pleased with her results.

Tough as it was, she did her best and attributed winning the contest to hard work and support from her parents.

“It is always a good feeling to win. I am so proud of myself and the team, and a special thanks to the team leaders that helped us achieve this,” she said.

Although she said she does not regard herself as a genius, at her school they do, and she tutors pupils in lower grades.

She would like to study medicine at UCT, but first she intends taking a gap year.

Team leader Liam Baker, who trained the South African team, said: “The team did us proud and we are very honoured to have received all the medals.

“They have shown that hard work and determination is the key to success.”

Ncongolo described their victory as a great honour for the country.

Ncongolo said Pamo and Pamo-G aims to enable pupils from all over Africa to test their knowledge and problem-solving abilities.

The SAMF attracts around 75 000 entrants from across the country each year.

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@PhalisoSandiso

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