Basic sciences, such as physics, maths and stats, advance human knowledge and push the frontiers of technology for the benefit of a sustainable society
Early in June, six high-school pupils were named to represent South Africa at the annual International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Amsterdam in July. Four of the team members hail from Cape Town schools.
In fact, since South Africa first took part in the IMO in 1992, more than half of our team members have come from the Western Cape, and they have brought home more than half of the country’s IMO medals.
So how is it that this province, which has only 10% of the population of South Africa, leads the country in high-level mathematics achievement? Is it the Cape Doctor that gives our high-school kids that extra spark in maths?
The real reason is much more straightforward. Of all possible interventions, mathematics competitions are recognised internationally as the most effective way to stimulate interest in the subject and identify and develop students’ mathematical potential. In the Western Cape, the major mathematics competition takes place at the University of Cape Town (UCT), as part of the university’s wider programme of mathematics enrichment for local high schools, with a range of activities that pick up and develop mathematical talent at an early level.
The core event is the annual UCT Mathematics Competition for high schools in the Western Cape. Started in 1977 by two maths teachers, Mona Leeuwenburg of Diocesan College and Shirley Fitton of Westerford High School, it was immediately popular and grew so rapidly that it had to be moved to the UCT campus in 1980. Today, it is run by the UCT maths department, and it has become one of the most important events in the extracurricular academic calendar of Western Cape high schools.
This year, nearly 7 000 students (or “mathletes”) took part, from schools in Atlantis, Bredasdorp, Clanwilliam, Durbanville, Edgemead — all the way down the alphabet to Worcester and Zeekoevlei. They filled more than 50 large lecture rooms from one end of the UCT campus to the other. More than 200 maths teachers helped out with registration and invigilation. Costs were covered with the help of generous corporate sponsors such as Aurecon and prizes were provided by Casio and Oxford University Press.
Maths is fun
The objective of the competition is to help high-school pupils and teachers realise how much fun and how accessible mathematics
really is.
The UCT Mathematics Competition gives learners a chance to get together in a stimulating academic environment for an evening of challenging mental activity. It recognises and rewards achievement, picks out promising pupils and offers them opportunities to further develop their mathematical talents.
All Western Cape schools are invited to send five individuals and five pairs from each grade (eight to 12). Entry is free. Those taking part as pairs try to prove that two heads are better than one. (Our research shows that pairs generally do not do better than individuals — but they do have fun collaborating.)
The question papers are set by a committee of high-school teachers and UCT staff: separate papers for the five high school grades, each comprising 30 questions. The first 10 are quite easy, the next 10 require some scratching of the head, and the last few may stump even experienced teachers. Unlike a conventional exam, there is no pass mark, so nobody fails.
The prizegiving takes place a month or two later. All prize-winners, their parents and maths teachers are invited, making up an audience of more than 500. Guest speakers have included prominent academics and even Cabinet ministers. Every school is eligible for at least one major prize. Gold Award certificates and Casio products (calculators and watches) are given to the top 10 individuals and the top three pairs in each grade. A school that has not won a Gold Award but has entered at least 10 individual participants qualifies for a School Prize: a book presented by Oxford University Press to the top individual participant in that school.
Buzz about maths
The excitement of the competition begins long before the test papers are handed out, and it lasts long after the prizegiving. Before the event, teachers run selection tests for their school teams using question papers from previous years. On the way home from the competition, the school buses are just as noisy as ever—but this time the buzz is about the maths problems.
In the days after the competition, school maths classes discuss some of the more challenging problems, which helps to develop insights that are not found in standard textbooks and exams. Once the papers are graded, schools are sent full reports on their mathletes’ performance. They also receive, at no charge, a full report of the competition, comprising the question papers, detailed solutions, full results and detailed performance statistics. The report provides teachers with a wealth of classroom enrichment material. (Old UCT Mathematics Competition papers also provide excellent preparation for the National Benchmark Test in mathematics, which prospective university students are required to write.)
The top 30 mathletes in each grade are invited to the UCT Invitational Mathematical Challenge, written on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks after the competition. The same students are invited to join the UCT Mathematics Circle, which meets on Wednesday afternoons at UCT for special lectures and workshops on maths. Participation is free of charge.
Teams representing Western Province in the national each September are also selected from the ranks of the winners of the UCT competition.
As we like to say, mathematics is not a spectator sport. Jumping in and participating is the key to loving maths. And a passion like that can be passed on.
David Jacobs, a three-time Gold Award-winner in the UCT Mathematics Competition in his schooldays, has published A Mathlete’s Training Guide, with basic problem-solving techniques for first-time competition participants. If there is no mathematics competition in your area, I suggest you help start one.
UCT mathematics professor John Webb is also the editor of Mathematical Digest, a quarterly magazine for high school pupils in Southern Africa, sponsored by Old Mutual. Visit www.mth.uct.ac.za/competition/book.html.