​​Stellenbosch University (SU) came out tops at the South African Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad recently, with six SU students ranked in the top 12.

Nearly 300 students from 17 universities participated, and the average performance was 3.7 out of 20 (18.5%). To make it into the ranks of the top 12, you had to obtain at least 12 marks out of 20.  

Benjamin Kleyn, a first-year student in mathematical sciences from SU, earned second place with 16 out of 20, followed by Kerry Porrill, Andrew Williams, Danielle Kleyn, Karlo Grobbelaar and Jean Weight, also in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

In terms of university rankings, the top five universities were SU, followed by the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, ADA University in Azerbaijan, and the University of Zululand.

Prof Louise Warnich, Dean of the Faculty of Science, congratulated the students with their remarkable achievement, and thanked Dr Liam Baker from the Mathematics Division for his support in helping the students to thrive in these competitions.

On the photo, from left to right, Danielle Kleyn, Benjamin Kleyn, Dr Liam Baker, Jean Weight, Andrew Williams and Kerry Porrill. Karlo Grobbelaar was absent when the photo was taken). Photo: Wiida Basson​