2005 Media release

The ten finalists in South Africa's first-ever Physics Olympiad have been announced.

They are Heidi Berge, Nirvana Bharuthram, Helmut Blumenthal, Devlin Bosman, Faith Chaza, Yashil Desai, Michael Malahe, Bendré Rathbone, Gareth Rowsell and Keabetswe Sethlare.

The Eastern Cape came out tops with no fewer than four finalists, Chaza from Kingswood College in Grahamstown, Bosman, Blumenthal and Rathbone, all from the Higher Technical School Dan Pienaar in Uitenhage

KwaZulu-Natal produced three finalists, Bharuthram from Westville Girls High School in Durban, Desai from Durban High School and Gareth Rowsell from Star College in Durban.

Two finalists came from the Western Cape, Berge from Bergvliet High School in Bergvliet and Malahe from Rondebosch Boys High School in Cape Town with Sethlare from Hoërskool Nylstroom in Limpopo

"The standard was very high and competition tough," says project leader Case Rijsdijk, "I just wish I could have selected more!"

"With these kind of results and with a combined bursary prize money of R42 500 at stake for tertiary studies, we believe the Physics Olympiad will set the scene for it to become an annual event."

From the some 15 000 entries for the annual ISPAT-ISCOR South African Science Olympiad, 189 grade 12 learners with an aptitude for physics were selected and wrote the first round of exams on Wednesday 18 May, 2005. The finalists were selected from this group.

"These ten finalists will attend a Physics Olympiad camp in Cape Town from 10 to 17 July 2005. Here they will be coached by among others, members of the University of Cape Town's physics department. They will then complete a three-hour theoretical exam and a three-hour practical exam. Part of the camp includes a visit to some national facilities such as iThemba LABS and the South African Astronomical Observatory."

The results of these two Physics Olympiad exams will culminate in the awarding of two gold, three silver and five bronze awards for tertiary study at a South African university of the holder's choice, at an awards dinner on Saturday, 16 July 2005 in Cape Town.

Rijsdijk says by awarding these bursaries the Department of Science and Technology is visibly addressing the shortage of physicists in the country by creating a conducive environment for further studies in this field.

"Hopefully the private sector will follow suit and help build this Olympiad to international dimensions. The aim is to eventually participate in the annual International Physics Olympiad. The assistance of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, SAASTA, in implementing the Physics Olympiad, is much appreciated, " he says.

The Olympiad forms part of the Department of Science and Technology's support of the UN International Year of Physics campaign to prove, to particularly the youth, that physics is an everyday part of life, under the slogan 'It's Your Physics'.

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