Young maths geniuses head for Malaysia
Five students from Universal Concepts of Mental and Arithmetic Systems (UCMAS) Kempton Glen will compete in Malaysia on Sunday
JUNIOR mental maths geniuses at Universal Concepts of Mental and Arithmetic Systems (UCMAS) Kempton Glen are preparing to compete at the UCMAS International Competition to be held in Malaysia.
The competition will be held on December 10 and 11 at the Genting Highland International Convention Centre.
“This comes after they qualified at the UCMAS National Competition in August,” said UCMAS Kempton Glen Centre’s Yolanda van Rensburg.
“Marliché Brits (8), Mlondi Bhengu (7), Allegra Crowie (5), Dané Steenkamp (7) and Jennifer Bentley (8) are the students from our centre who will be among those representing the country in Malaysia.
“Every year, there is a national competition in August and those who get 30 sums and more correct qualify to compete internationally.
“There will be 4 500 children competing this year and in one seating there can be up to 3 000 children in a room.”
Van Rensburg said speed and accuracy are among the important things needed to excel at the competition.
“It is all about the speed, the faster they can calculate and write down their answers, the better they will do,” explained van Rensburg.
“Ultimately, the fastest child will win.
“Every Saturday at 9am, for the past three months, without a miss, these five super stars of our centre started with preparations and worked very hard to improve their speed and accuracy.
“They are now well prepared and ready to take off to Malaysia.
“Good luck in Malaysia, super stars.”
Van Rensburg will accompany the children together with their parents.
