News

Winners of the 2010 De Beers English Olympiad announced

8 July 2010

The Grahamstown Foundation announced the rank order of the top 100 De Beers English Olympiad winners at an official prize giving ceremony held in Grahamstown earlier today.

Shannon Basson from St Mary’s DSG in Pretoria was announced the winner of this year’s competition. Kerstin Hall from Chesterhouse in Durbanville and Kajal Tulsi from Edenvale High School in Johannesburg achieved second and third place respectively. The top three candidates will be treated to a literary tour of the United Kingdom in December
2010.

In March, entrants from Grade 10 to 12 wrote the three-hour examination on this year’s theme, “œCharacter: Analysis and Motivation”, and the anthology entitled Under their skin and in their shoes.

Andrew Renard, the Chief Examiner, commented on the exam, “œThe candidates certainly seemed to enjoy this year’s Olympiad. The standard of writing was very pleasing as the entrants showcased their creative skills. While some of the writers produced macabre and sinister responses to the question asking them to write an autobiography for one of
the characters from the anthology, there were also writers who showed they could create superb humorous  responses.”

The De Beers English Olympiad is an annual national English competition that this year drew more than 6 300 entries  from high schools throughout the country. The competition is organised jointly by the Grahamstown Foundation and the South African Council for English Education (SACEE).

In 1976 the Eastern Cape branch of SACEE implemented the first English Olympiad. The competition was open only to candidates in that province and drew 119 entrants, with a first prize of R50. In 1977 the English Olympiad was opened to the whole of the Cape province and by 1978 it went national. De Beers partnered with the event as the main sponsor in 1985.

Said De Beers Consolidated Mines spokesman Judy Nkuna, “œThe English Olympiad stimulates English language use along with the development of critical thinking and creativity among thousands of young South Africans. This is critical not only to the life chances of the beneficiaries of this programme, but also to the national good, by assisting to connect our economy with others, and through that, increasing the opportunities for personal and national growth in South Africa.”

As well as the overseas trip won by the top three, the top 15 candidates are invited to attend the National Schools Festival in Grahamstown free of charge. The De Beers English Olympiad prize-giving ceremony is held during this Festival. Learners who are ranked between the fourth and 20th positions will receive cash prizes or book vouchers. The Top 50 candidates receive free-tuition scholarships for their first year of study at Rhodes University immediately upon successful completion of the matriculation examinations and subject to the university’s entry requirements, and all candidates who complete the paper will receive certificates indicating a classified evaluation.

De Beers English Olympiad 2010 Top 20 – Listed in Rank Order