Johannesburg - Private school St Peter’s College is proud of its matric pupil Yi Lou who came second at this year’s Pan-African Mathematical Olympiad (Pamo).
Six young South African mathematicians took part in the 28th Pamo, hosted by Tunisia from May 23-24. This year’s competition was a virtual event in which 11 African countries participated.
The SA Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) announced that Morocco placed first, while the South African team came second, followed by Tunisia and Algeria in joint third place. The South African team received two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
South Africa’s Yi Lou, a Grade 12 pupil from St Peter’s College in Sunninghill, took second place among the 60 participants and received a gold medal.
St Peter’s College headmaster Rui Morais said yesterday that the entire school was proud of the pupil, who joined the school in Grade 9.
“I’ll never forget that year when I interviewed him and his father for admissions. He’s a rather quiet and shy young man, but his father said ‘You will never regret taking him into the school’, and he was so excited,” Morais said.
The headmaster added that the school was impressed with Lou’s overall academic performance, especially because he was a foreign student.
“He’s become a popular young man, and when he’s done well the reactions of the students are supportive of him,” Morais said.
Tyrone Kasi, a Grade 12 pupil from St Stithians Boys’ College in Sandton, received a gold medal for his joint third place. Alex Sinclair-Smith, a Grade 11 pupil from Westerford High School in Cape Town, was the second
best out of the 27 female participants. Alex made joint overall sixth place and received a silver medal.
“We are incredibly proud of the South African team’s performance,” said Professor Kerstin Jordaan, the executive director at SAMF.
The other South African team members were Shelby le Roux, a Grade 11 pupil from Rustenburg Girls’ High
School, who placed seventeenth and received a bronze medal; Minkyum Kim, a Grade 10 pupil from Reddam House Durbanville, who placed twenty-fifth and received a bronze medal; and Daniella Kaye, a Grade 10 pupil from Herschel Girls’ High School in Cape Town, who placed thirty-third.
“One of SAMF’s goals is to expose mathematically-gifted pupils to international
competitions,” Jordaan said.
She added that a committee chose the South African international teams from the top-performing pupils in the previous year’s South African Mathematics Olympiad (Samo) and other results of the SAMF Olympiad programmes
“That means that the top pupils who participate in this year’s Samo, of
which the third and final round is in July, stand a chance to be selected for next year’s Pamo,” Jordaan said.
The executive director added that the Covid-19 pandemic made participation in the host country impossible, but each country’s teams came together at a central location and participated virtually under close supervision.
The Star