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In August 1996 Prof. John Webb, the ``grandfather" of Mathematics Competitions in South Africa, issued an invitation to Zimbabwe schools to provide up to 5 participants to join his annual ``camp" for talented young mathematicians in Stellenbosch, December 1996. The invitation was issued through myself and Richard Knottenbelt of Victoria High; we passed it on to those schools we identified as, firstly, having teachers keen enough to be interested and, secondly, having parents able to pay transportation to South Africa for a son or daughter.
The day of the camp approached and still no firm commitment had been given; although some teachers and pupils had shown interest, the overwhelming factor of finance had bogged down the whole idea of participation. However luck prevailed and the Dominican Sisters provided money for 2 boys from Masvingo, Alexander Zawaira of Gokomere and Nation Mugochi of Victoria High. Then Phil Elder, teacher at St John's College Harare, decided that he, his daughter and a friend, would also be able to venture forth. The next problem was that of passports and visas; right up until the day before departure, we were running from Embassy to telephone and back .... but we succeeded and all climbed aboard a bus bound for Stellenbosch on December 12th.
Each year approximately 30 South African pupils who have been identified as ``gifted", through their performance in various mathematics competitions and activities during the year, are invited to attend the Stellenbosch Camp. Ages of participants usually range from 11 to 17. For some of the children it is their second or even third such camp, whilst for others it is their first experience. The aim of the programme, apart from providing mathematical stimulation and enjoyment for all participants, is to select about 6 possible members of the South African Team to the International Mathematics Olympiad in the following year. Thus we were expecting some high powered performances and were not disappointed.
On the first day of the camp all pupils sit for a 2-3 hour test, the purpose of which was to grade them as (mathematically) junior or senior, irrespective of age. Thereafter the juniors did a 2 hour test each day whilst the seniors did a 3 hour stint. The remainder of each day was spent in attending lectures, participating in problem solving sessions and discussion, and playing cricket each evening after supper. Each day began at 8.30 am with a test and finished at 9.30 pm after revising that day's test. A score chart was kept and pupils eagerly awaited the outcome of each test, competing with each other to gain the highest marks. Lectures were provided by various University and College lecturers and also by former South African Olympiad Champions. We also took time off for a spot of fun, such as a visit to the nearby beach and an outing to the Cape Town Waterfront. On the final day participants are given a 'real' IMO paper with which to try their luck.
There is no doubt that in Stellenbosch we met the cream of young South African mathematicians. One reads about clever children but meeting a whole group of them was an entirely new experience for me. I was given the task of providing the junior class with an introduction to Probability and Statistics. No notice had been given to me of this requirement and thus I was unprepared, completely! I decided to start with my usual first year UZ lectures, thinking I could adapt as we went along according to the level of difficulty. Needless to say I had little adaptation to do; these so-called junior pupils latched on to new ideas, absorbed and understood them and were ready with their questions, before I had time to wonder whether I was communicating well. They would have held their own, and better, with any first year University class; a new experience for all of us from Zimbabwe.
The questions we in Zimbabwe must ask ourselves is: When are we going to organise ourselves sufficiently to hold such a camp here in Zimbabwe? Why do we not know, why can we not identify, Zimbabwe's own young mathematicians of worth? I challenge all teachers and pupils in the country to assist and support us in our efforts to be able to select one day a noteworthy team for participation in the International Mathematics Olympiad.
For anyone interested, Prof Webb has repeated his invitation to Zimbabwe for Stellenbosch 1997. Teachers and pupils who are interested should contact the Zimaths Editor, for further information, planning and fundraising, BEFORE JULY 1997.