City pupils make top 20 of English Olympiad
‘The olympiad requires answers that show original thinking’
FOUR Cape Town schools have excelled in the national 2018 Home Language English Olympiad, where four of their pupils were ranked among the top 20.
Exhibiting their excellent grasp of the English language at the Olympiad, which took place from March and for which they had to write tests, were Jan van Riebeeck High’s Theodore Pauw and Louise Goethals, respectively placed fifth and seventh, with Rustenburg High School for Girls’ Rebecca Behne in 15th, Camps Bay High School’s Francois Kemp in 19th place and Rondebosch Boys’ High School’s Tim Schlesinger 33rd.
Tim is also among six South African finalists attending the International Mathematical Olympiad taking place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, ending tomorrow.
The prize-giving event where the winners were announced took place on Tuesday in Grahamstown, said SA Council for English Education (SACEE) national chairperson Malcolm Venter.
“To be placed among the top 20 is no mean feat.
“The Olympiad demands a considerable amount of preparation on the part of the candidates and they have to face a three-hour exam which requires answers that show original thinking and an ability to express themselves in a creative style, while at the same time substantiating their views from the prescribed text.”
The SACEE, together with the Grahamstown Foundation, is responsible for organising the 2018 Home Language English Olympiad.
Venter said that each year the Olympiad was centred around a theme based on a literary anthology. For the 2018 Olympiad the theme was “The poetry of war and peace” and based on an anthology entitled “We will remember them”.
The top 15 candidates are invited to attend the National Schools Festival in Grahamstown with all expenses paid.
Each also receives a cash/ book prize, and in addition, Rhodes University offers the top 50 candidates free tuition scholarships for any course of study, said Venter.
He said 6 411 candidates had entered for the 2018 Olympiad and that the call for entries for the 2019 Olympiad would be issued to schools at the beginning of August.