Only three learners in 34 years of the annual SA Programming Olympiad have earned the gold medal twice.
At the Awards Dinner during the school holidays Taariq Mowzer became the third. In grade 11 at Fairbairn
College in Cape Town, Mowzer (17) competed against nine other finalists from three provinces to claim the
prestigious Standard Bank trophy, first awarded in 2005.

Tian Cilliers (Stellenbosch High) and Emile Tredoux (Parklands College) each won a silver medals, while the
three bronze medals went to Liam Foxcroft (Bishops), Ralph McDougall (Curro Durbanville) and Andi Qu (St
John’s College, Johannesburg). Qu (15), the youngest finalist commented “I think it’s great that high school
students get an opportunity to be exposed to difficult problems like these”.
To celebrate 15 years of Standard Bank support for the Olympiad, the finals moved from Cape Town to the
Bank’s Global Leadership Centre in Johannesburg for the 10-hour weekend coding contest. On Monday the
finalists took a guided tour of three of the Bank’s computer facilities including mobile banking. Tian Cilliers
commented “We learned a lot about the specific technologies and workflow methods used to improve
efficiency and provide the best experience to the user.”

The first round of the Programming Olympiad attracted 2,036 participants to the 1-hour contest at schools in
August. Of the participants invited to the second round, 539 took part online in the 90-minute contest. The
programs of the top performers were checked to see that they provided the correct output. Ten learners
took part in the finals – one from Gauteng, two from KwaZulu-Natal and seven from the Western Cape.
According to Michael Cameron, manager of the Standard Bank Programming Olympiad, “Olympiads help to
identify and develop talent in schools so that youngsters who wouldn’t otherwise have chosen a career in IT
are encouraged to do so.”

Nicole Borges, Head of CIB Technology at Standard Bank, ended the Awards evening with the challenge to
the ten finalists “Technology will do great things for our communities, country and the world and you will be
at the heart of it. Go out and not only advance us in the Fourth Industrial Revolution but help us Future
proof Africa!”

High resolution photographs available on request
www.olympiad.org.za

Michael Cameron Manager: S.A. Computer Olympiad Land line: 021 448 7864 Email: info@olympiad.org.za