FAQ’s

Here are some frequently asked questions about the maths olympiad:

What grades can enter?

The competition is open to grade 4 – 9 learners.

How much does it cost?

Nothing! Its free to enter

How long is the quiz?

For the grade 4 – 6 learners the mental maths is 40 questions in 15 minutes, and the problem solving portion is 10 questions in 1 hour.

For grade 7 – 9 learners the mental maths is 50 questions in 15 minutes, and the problem solving portion is 20 questions in 1 hour.

When will we get our results?

The quiz is automatically marked and once the results have been collated for each circuit, your school’s results will be shared directly with the teacher that registered the students.

How many rounds are there?

You have already completed the school round, then there is a circuit round where your top 3 – 5 children for each grade at your school will compete online on the quiz.mathsatsharp platform. Details about venues will be sent to you through your maths facilitators. While the quiz is online, you will write at a venue with some other schools and learners.

The top 5 children from each circuit will then compete at the district level. There are 15 districts in Gauteng. Each of the top 3 learners at district level will receive a Sharp calculator for their outstanding efforts. You will also write this at a venue.

Finally these learners will go on to compete at the provincial level.

When will these rounds take place?

Circuit level – 20 – 24 April

District level – 27 May

Provincial Competition – 26th of August

Prize Giving – 12th of September

Who is setting the questions?

Our very own Andrew Naude, with 16 years of maths teaching experience, will be setting all the questions. The team from Gauteng Department of Education will moderate the tests to ensure quality and fairness.

What are the prizes?

Sharp is the main sponsor and learners who are placed in the top 3 at district level will receive a calculator.

Other prizes include educational toys from Edu-matic for grade 4 – 6 learners, and Creality is sponsoring a 3D printer for the top grade 9 provincial learner.

You can look at the Prizes page for more information and updates.

Where can I practice?

You can practice right here – on our practice quiz page.

What can we take into the tests?

You can take pens, pencils, a piece of blank paper and your calculator. Remember the calculator can only be used for the problem solving portion of the quiz.