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Four South African grade 12 pupils will attend the 2014 London International Youth Science Forum, and two grade 11 pupils will participate in the Australian National Youth Science Forum after coming out tops in the National Science Olympiad.
 
Southern Africa's top young science performers in 2014 were honoured at a gala event at Emperors Palace last night.  The top achievers were drawn from schools in the southern African region, including Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
 
The Olympiad aims to contribute towards excellence in science among learners and to encourage them to take up careers in science, engineering and technology.  Just under 30 000 learners in grades 10 to 12 wrote either the Physical Sciences or Life Science paper on 3 March this year.  Winners in different categories received prizes such as laptops, iPads, e-bookreaders and more at the awards event.  The top-performing schools received science equipment for their laboratories.
 
Last night's event also celebrated 50 years of the competition.  Past Science Olympiad winners were also honoured, including the likes of Prof. Nithaya Chetty, Group Executive for Astronomy at the National Research Foundation, Mteto Nyati, Microsoft's GM of emerging regions in Africa and the Middle East, and award-winning poet Imraan Coovadia.
 
Delivering the keynote address Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, said: "The Olympiad is much more than a science and biology exam competition.  It's the jewel in the crown of our Youth into Science Strategy, which is all about identifying and nurturing talent.  The Olympiad also identifies talent.  It identifies talent that teachers have nurtured in schools across the length and breadth of the country."
 
The Minister added that the country needed more young scientists to improve the quality of life of all citizens, especially those in rural areas.
 
"Many South African inventors have produced products that improve the quality of life of rural people in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa," said Minister Pandor, citing solar power projects like the turbo-spiral solar heater and the sun-catcher solar cooker.
 
Congratulating winners of the 50th National Science Olympiad in Johannesburg last night, the Minister said government was increasing investment in research and development, and modernising infrastructure devoted to science and technology.
 
The Minister encouraged the winners to lengthen the list of inventions for which South Africa was known.
 
"South African scientists have been able to exploit both geographic and knowledge advantages.  We are internationally competitive and recognised in astronomy.  As a country rich in human fossil remains, we are also a leading country in palaeontology and related sciences," she said.
 
"There is much to be proud of in South African science.  We boast a long list of impressive inventions – from early tools for collecting, cutting up and storing food, to traditional medicines, horse-drawn vehicles, medical apparatus, attack helicopters, vuvuzela horns and articulated dump trucks.  We are particularly renowned for breakthroughs in the medical field, which include heart transplant procedures and the development of computer axial tomography, which led to breakthroughs in X-ray scanning."
 
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Winners:
·        Best overall marks in Physical Sciences: Thomas Orton of Bishops High School in Cape Town.
·        Best overall marks in Life Sciences: Ishaaq Lakhi of Raisethorpe Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal.
·        Best marks in Physical Sciences in Grade 11: Bataung Mohapi, African Leadership Academy, Gauteng.
·        Top girl learner in Life Sciences: Rebecca Rogers, Reddam House Atlantic Seaboard, Western Cape.
 
Two learners have been selected to attend a Science Focus Week in Australia in January 2015:
·        Hamandishe Mathivha of Mbilwi Secondary School, Limpopo.
·        Danielle Vellema of Outeniqua High School in George, Western Cape.