A specialist engineering firm was recently involved as a transport sponsor for 436 students from 15 schools in Kayalitsha who attended the annual University of Cape Town (UCT) mathematics competition.
The competition began in 1977 as a school-based event, organised by local teachers, which sees high school learners write multiple-choice maths papers as individuals or in pairs to attain top honours in this prestigious contest. The event is the largest of its kind in South Africa and has seen Aurecon involved as a sponsor since 2007 This year saw a new record set for the number of attendees, which included:- 7 688 participating students from 169 schools
- 273 teachers participating in invigilation
He believes that the competition, while being fulfilling and motivational, played an important role in raising standards for the highly talented participants.
According to some of the participants, the competition was a challenge that allowed them to exercise their strategic thinking abilities. Some of the students that were interviewed had the following to say: “I found the competition to be challenging, which I enjoyed as it allowed me to test my limits when it came to maths knowledge,” said Tariq Mowser. “I found that the key to success in the competition lies in the ability to solve problems quickly and think on your feet,” said Sean Van Wyk. “I enjoyed the competition as the challenging questions allowed me to open my mind and to find different ways of solving problems,” said Ewan Clayton. The students mentioned that they were all very excited and motivated to improve their maths skills and return for the 2016 competition.
