Cheque plus goodwill equals boost for maths

Boost for maths: Photographed at the cheque handover were (from left) Prof John Webb, Albert Geldenhuys (Africon regional manager, Western Cape), Quinten Corner (shareholder, Africon Cape Town office), and Prof Kathy Driver (Dean of Science).

A R30 000 cheque from Africon Engineering International has given UCT's flagship schools Maths Competition a welcome boost.

The competition, which kicked off in 1977 as a school-based event, is hosted annually by the mathematics and applied mathematics department to popularise maths among high school pupils.

Speaking at the handover, Dean of Science Professor Kathy Driver said maths was a key to vital skills development. "We need to improve maths and science literacy among schools and there is a huge amount of work to do. I hope your company will see this as a way of investing in the future."

Africon was established more than 50 years ago as a civil and structural consulting engineering company. It is now ranked first in the consulting engineering sector among South Africa's Top 500 best managed companies and is listed among the world's top 200 international design firms.