Results for the 2020 English Olympiad coming soon

The results for the 2020 English Olympiad will be available soon. The national lockdown has caused a delay in the marking process, but we will inform teachers as soon as results are available. Check this website for more notices regarding the results and general Olympiad news.

Study Guide Memo

Please note that the answers offered are suggestions and other responses may be valid.

Answers have only been supplied for the individual work questions. Group questions should vary greatly in responses.

Click on the link below to access the Study Guide Memo:

Study Guide Memo 2020

2020 Call for Entries

Please note that entries have closed for the 2020 English Olympiad. If you missed the closing date, please try again in August 2020 when we will be open for entries to the 2021 Olympiad.

Calling all English Olympiad enthusiasts! We are gearing up for the 2020 English Olympiad. Our theme for 2020 is "Consequences" and the anthology is entitled Aftermath.

The English Olympiad is open to all learners (HL and FAL English) who will be in Grades 9 - 12 in 2020, that is, those learners who are currently in Grades 8 - 11.

Entry fee: R125 per entry

Closing date: 11 October 2019

Please click on the links below to download the Call for Entries and Entry Form for 2020:

Call for Entries - for information about the Olympiad, how to enter and prizes up for grabs.

Entry Form - please complete this form to enter, and email/fax it to the Olympiad Officer before the closing date.

2019 RESULTS!!!

The 2019 HL Top 100 and FAL Top 18 are available for download! Please click on the links below:

HL Top 100

FAL Top 18

Well done to all schools and candidates that took part!

To check your school's full results, please log on with your username and password to access them. Click on the "Entries" tab.

2019 English Olympiad Winners!

Back row: Bianca Nel, Oudtshoorn High School; Dewan Barnard, Oudtshoorn High School; Caro Botha, Parel Vallei High School; Bianca Jardim, Rhenish Girls' High School; Marcelle Rademeyer, St Cyprian's School; Michaela Scholtz, Durban Girls' High School.

Middle row: Emily Barnes, Parktown High School for Girls; Yunan Liu, Maru-A-Pula School Botswana; Kerin Stead, York High School; Caitlyn Venter, St Dominic's Priory School; Amira Karstaedt, King David High School Victory Park; Max Millela, St John's College; Caitlin Honeywell, Durban Girls' College.

Front row: Katherine Duvenage, Roedean School SA (HL 3rd place winner); Shannon Morrison, Cornwall Hill College (HL 1st place winner); Lethokuhle Khumalo, Port Shepstone High School (FAL 1st place winner).

2019 English Olympiad HL TOP 20 in RANK ORDER!

Rank	Title	First name	Last name	School
1	Ms	Shannon	Morrison	Cornwall Hill College
2	Mr	Sean	Cameron	Cornwall Hill College
3	Ms	Katherine	Duvenage	Roedean School SA
4	Ms	Emily	Barnes	Parktown High School for Girls
5	Ms	Yunan	Liu	Maru-A-Pula School Botswana
6	Ms	Ilana	Jacobs	St Mary's DSG Pretoria
7	Ms	Kerin	Stead	York High School
8	Ms	Caitlyn	Venter	St Dominic's Priory School
9	Ms	Amira	Karstaedt	King David High School Victory Park
10	Mr	Max	Milella	St John's College
11	Ms	Caitlin	Honeywell	Durban Girls' College
12	Ms	Marcelle	Rademeyer	St Cyprian's School
13	Ms	Michaela	Scholtz	Durban Girls' High School
14	Ms	Bianca	Jardim	Rhenish Girls' High School
15	Ms	Caro	Botha	Parel Vallei High School
16	Ms	Naomi	Suchland	Reddam House Atlantic Seaboard
17	Ms	Holly	Munks	Durban Girls' College
18	Ms	Charlotte	Abrahams	Crawford College Sandton
19	Mr	Gary	Louw	Grantleigh
20	Ms	Hanna	Essop	Roedean School SA

2019 First Additional Language (FAL) Top 18 in RANK ORDER!

Rank	Title	First Name	Surname	School
1	Ms	Lethokuhle	Khumalo	Port Shepstone High School
2	Ms	Heleen	Pretorius	Hoërskool Garsfontein
3	Ms	Bianca	Nel	Oudtshoorn High School
4	Mr	Dewan	Barnard	Oudtshoorn High School
5	Ms	Mieke	van den Berg	Hoërskool Garsfontein
6	Ms	Linda	Weymers	Wessel Maree High School
7	Ms	Sanda	Mqadi	Port Shepstone High School
8	Ms	Sonet	Vermaak	Hoërskool Nelspruit
9	Mr	Dylan	Botha	Hoërskool Randburg
10	Ms	Simoné	Smit	Brackenfell High School
11	Mr	Frikkie	Scheepers	Ferdinand Postma High School
12	Mr	Ben	Greeff	Oudtshoorn High School
13	Ms	Zandria	Pienaar	Ferdinand Postma High School
14	Ms	Carla	Kruger	Die Hoërskool Menlopark
15	Ms	Levonne	Roux	Hoërskool Randburg
16	Ms	Chantelle	Roets	Oudtshoorn High School
17	Ms	Nakeisha	Napllatan	The Kings College
18	Ms	Karla	van Rooy	Oudtshoorn High School

Click here for an explanation of the symbols.

Saul Musker, 2nd place in the 2012 English Olympiad, reflects on writing the exam:

Isaac Asimov, the celebrated American science fiction writer, once declared: ‘If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster.’ Reading this quote, my mind wandered to the top-corridor English classroom where I recently wrote my last English Olympiad, with Mrs Leaver’s voice in the distance: ‘Six minutes left, everyone! Hurry along!’ Six minutes left! Lord have mercy! It wasn’t that I was worried about time; I had just finished my last piece, and was about to give it a final read-over. No; I owed my despair instead to the realisation that I would never write another Olympiad. For me, the Olympiad is more than just another exam or competition. It is protected time for creativity; a dedicated three hours devoted to writing. I only wish I could write one every day, to escape the usual chaos of our existence, to let the ink pour out of my grateful mind. F Scott Fitzgerald observed that ‘all good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.’ So dive, ye stranger! Submerge yourself in the cool green waters of your imagination, of the English language, of this moment in time!

Achievements of the English Olympiad as a project

2015

The De Beers English Olympiad won a medal in the Academic Achievements category of the Eastwave Radio Nelson Mandela International Day Community Leadership Awards in August 2015.

2014

The De Beers English Olympiad was a DEVELOPMENT AWARD FINALIST in the 17th Annual Business Day Business Arts South Africa (BASA) Awards partnered by Hollard. The achievement was celebrated at the BASA Awards on 26 August 2014.

News and Updates

2020 ENGLISH OLYMPIAD - download the Call for Entries and Entry Form from the links on the left to enter the 2020 Olympiad.
The theme for the 2020 English Olympiad is "Consequences", and the anthology is entitled Aftermath.
HL TOP 100 RANK ORDER for 2019 now available for download! Please see the links on the left.
Results for the 2019 English Olympiad are available! Please log in with your English Olympiad username and password to view your school's results. Click on Entries in the grey task bar. You will see the symbol/result next to each candidate's name if they wrote.
2019 CERTIFICATES will be posted to all schools by August.
HELP for English Teachers! See Teaching English Today by clicking here for more information.
Find past exam papers, English exercises, study inspiration or guidance for First Additional Language students by going to the "Exam Materials" tab at the top of this website for past exam papers and FAL Study Guides. You may wish to visit A DICTIONARY OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH at: http://dsae.co.za/
OLYMPIAD OFFICE:
046 603 1145 (09h00-16h30)
Email: olympiad@foundation.org.za

PARTNERS AND SPONSORS

The English Olympiad is a joint project between the Grahamstown Foundation, the South African Council for English Education (SACEE) and De Beers.

Grahamstown Foundation

For information about other Grahamstown Foundation Arts Education projects, please visit:
http://schoolsfestival.wordpress.com/
and
http://www.foundation.org.za/#

South African Council for English Education