Graeme College pupil Russell Dixon took first prize for the region in the South African Junior Mathematics Olympiad.

Russell came through three gruelling rounds to ultimately be crowned the best in the Eastern Cape region. He beat off stiff competition from more than 2 000 other pupils in the region who wrote the exam. The regional prizegiving ceremony on Friday morning, where the top three juniors from round two were recognised was particularly special for the young mathematician, because it took place in front of his friends in the Graeme College hall.

Russell, 15, who lives on a farm outside Grahamstown with his parents, enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time. He told Grocott's Mail, "I do not spend that much time on my maths. I'm lucky because it is a natural gift. I think I went over one or two question papers before the Mathematics Olympiad. The competition was really hard, especially the second round. I didn't think I'd got more than 40% - and writing alone at VG made it even more weird."

Glyn Dixon, Russell's dad, said, "We are obviously proud, but it's nothing we have done. Everyone congratulates the parent - but Russell wrote the papers, not us.The teachers also deserve some of the credit. Without the teachers, I don't think the kids would do this." Graeme College headmaster Peter Reed said the school was very proud of Russell and his achievement and that he was a boy who used his opportunities in life.

The Clarendon School for Girls pupil, Megan Metcalf, who took second place was not present at the ceremony to receive her certificate. Dylan Warwick, a Grade 8 pupil from Grey High School in Port Elizabeth, was third. "The competition was really difficult and definitely a challenge," Dylan said. “It was harder than I expected. Especially because we could not use a calculator. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely." He said his parents had been beside him all the way. The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants is the main sponsor of the inter-schools mathematics competition.