W Cape proves to be the A-team in maths
THE Western Cape proved to be a home of maths stars as both the junior and senior high school A teams triumphed against learners from across the country in the latest Actuarial Society of South Africa (Assa) Mathematics Team Competition.
The Western Province A team achieved first place out of the 72 junior teams that participated, followed by the A team from Gauteng North. Similarly, the senior team beat the 67 teams ahead of the A team from Gauteng North.
“I am very pleased with the result. There were some very strong individual students from those teams, so it is a great feeling knowing they lived up to their potential,” said team organiser, UCT lecturer Thomas van Heerden.
The competition saw each region enter two A teams of 10, one junior (Grades 8 and 9) and one senior (Grades 10, 11 and 12).
The first part of the competition was a one-hour individual problem paper consisting of 15 multiple-choice questions.
The second part of the competition consisted of 10 tricky problems, where teams had to work together and submit just one set of answers.
Western Province Junior A-team members were: Jack Buckham, Sebastian Steer, Tengjun Liu, Simon Oosthuizen, Kayleigh Botes, Mike Wang, Josh Barham-Smith, Jonathan Schlesinger, Youkyum Kim and Aidan Herbertsonand. Western Province Senior A-team members were: Kerry Porril, Benjamin Kleyn, Alexander Cristaudo, Emmanuel Rassou, Daniel Schlesinger, Hugo Brouwer, MinKyum Kim, Justin Botes, Ethan Holgate and Alex Sinclair.
Senior A team member Kerry Porril, 18, from Cannons Creek Independent School in Pinelands, said their victory was confirmation that all the hours that she had put in was worth it.
“Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, it is still something I'm in awe of, but I am very proud of myself because I put in a lot of hard work.
“Before the competition I would do classes and train every weekend for five hours a day. During the holidays I would do some training during the weekdays. During school, I go through past papers for an hour a day. Similar to sport, you have to keep on practising. If you stop practising you won't perform as well.”
She said the competition wasn't easy.
“It was very stressful. The first day didn't go that great, it was hard. The second day was a lot better.
“It was quite emotional because the results don't come out immediately and you go through this process of co-ordination where you have to convince the markers that your solutions were right.
“I didn't realise one of my solutions was flawed. I was worried I would not get a mark high enough to get a medal.
“When I found out I got 13, I was heartbroken because this was my last opportunity. When the cup ended I found out the mark needed was 12, so I received a medal.”
The Grade 12 learner said that she always had an interest in maths.
“Since the age of three I enjoyed counting till 100. I have always been fascinated with numbers. I would like to go into research science or mathematics to work on current unsolved problems.”
Another A team senior member, 18-year-old Justin Botes from Elkanah House school in Blouberg, said: “I am very proud of the team as a whole, everyone worked very well together. It was a tough competition.
“A lot of us do external training and our maths teachers go above and beyond to help us.”
Assa president Lusani Mulaudzi congratulated participants and winners.
“We want to thank the South African Mathematics Foundation for their professional organisation and congratulate the participants, particularly the prizewinners, on their performance.
“The Actuarial Society takes great pride in its long-standing involvement in the SA Mathematics Team Competition for schools. The team competition highlights the importance of teamwork.”