Maths whiz kids go one on one

Western Province and Boland teams taking part in the annual Inter-provincial Mathematics Olympiad met in the UCT Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. Over 300 South African top high-school mathematicians participated in the competition. They convened in different provincial centres to compete with each other in solving a range of mathematical problems. Provinces entered junior (up to grade 9) and senior teams (grades 10, 11 and 12). The contestants wrote a one-hour individual paper. After discussion of team strategy, they tackled a paper in which they were allowed to collaborate. Western Province took first place in the junior category with Gauteng North second and Boland A coming in at third. In the senior category, Gauteng South finished first with Free State close on their heels. Boland took third place. The Inter-provincial Mathematics Olympiad is sponsored by the Actuarial Society of South Africa.