St Mary’s School, Waverley, pupil in top 15 in Olympiad

A Grade 12 pupil at St Mary’s School, Waverley, has been placed as one of the top 15 candidates in the 2014 De Beers English Olympiad.

Thalia Rogers will travel to Grahamstown in July and will attend workshops at the Grahamstown Arts Festival. She will also attend a breakfast where her position in the top 15 will be announced.

According to Kathy Mittendorf, the school’s marketing manager, the De Beers English Olympiad is a national English competition that draws more than 7 000 entries each year and is open to all learners in grades 10, 11 and 12.

She said, “The competition is organised jointly by the Grahamstown Foundation and the South African Council for English Education.” The primary objectives of the project were to enrich pupils through the study of English, and encourage them to explore it beyond the scope of the school syllabus. The project also encourages critical thinking and creative writing as pupils enjoy the challenges of preparing for and writing the examination.

The shy and quiet Rogers said she was very excited by her achievement, as the project promotes the English language and stimulates the study of English amongst first and second English-language speakers.

She said, “I didn’t expect it but I am proud and excited about it.”

The candidates were required to prepare for a three-hour examination, which used the open-book system, and the 2014 theme was language, literature and laughter; and Rogers said she really enjoyed writing the exam. She said she enjoyed reading the anthology which included a combination of extracts from Shakespearean plays and modern South African plays.

“When I was informed about my achievement I was excited and shocked but I know it’s because I kept my originality, creativity and trusted my own thoughts.”

Her English teacher, Lynn Knowles described her as an excellent pupil. Knowles said, “Thalia is very quiet but hugely intelligent, a deep thinker. She is our top pupil across the board. I am sure she will be on the front pages for this year’s matric results.”

Rogers added that she was excited about her trip to Grahamstown as it will give her a chance to meet new people, get new ideas and that she was not worried about her overall position in the top 15. Furthermore her dreams were to study Bachelor of Science at the University of Cape Town.