Aaliyah Johari, from Belmor Primary School, is a semi-finalist in this year’s MathArt competition.
The national competition for Grade 7 to 12 pupils is run by the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre and is free to enter. This year’s theme was “mathematics the language of the sciences”.
This year, about 30 semi-finalists were selected, and the final round of judging starts today and lasts until Thursday July 7. Winners will receive a MathArt book. The award ceremony will be held on Saturday July 16.
Pupils had to work maths, art and the theme into an artwork and explain what maths they used, how maths was reflected in the piece and whether they had discovered anything new by taking part in the competition.
Aaliyah’s mother, Aisha Johari, said she was proud of her daughter’s achievement.
“Aaliyah was so excited when she heard she was a MathArt semi-finalist and burst into tears of excitement,” she said.
Aaliyah was one of 25 pupils at Belmor Primary who entered the competition.
The school’s principal, Carol Poole, said: “It was great to see two subjects align in a creative way and to see teachers get creative with children. They really had fun.”
Charnelle Arendse, a Grade 7 teacher at the school, said: “I am immensely proud of Aaliyah. What a wonderful opportunity to showcase her creativity and talent. She is so innovative when it comes to all things art and I wish her all the best for the next phase of the competition.”