Arts Education Project

Theme for 2008

What is the English Olympiad?

The English Olympiad is a national English competition that draws more than 5000 entries each year. The competition is organised jointly by the Grahamstown Foundation and the South African Council for English Education.

Aims of the English Olympiad

To enrich learners through the study of English and to encourage critical thinking and creative writing.

What is the format of the examination?

Candidates are required to prepare for a 3-hour examination, which uses the open-book system. This means that the set text can be used during the examination.

What is the Syllabus for 2008?

The THEME for the Olympiad will be "The Law on Stage".

The TEXT will be an anthology entitled, "Court in the Act", compiled by the South African Council of English Education

More details about the structure of the paper will be supplied on enrolment. Candidates will be provided with general guidelines, and some questions from past papers will be included in a study guide, as well as examples of excellent responses.

When and Where?

The examination will be written at your school on Tuesday, 4 March 2008, between 2pm and 5pm. In connection with this, please note the following:

It is not possible, for practical and security reasons, to allow schools to write the examination on different dates or at different times. Schools are therefore requested to take the date and time into account when planning their own calendars.

The date of the examination is determined by the time needed to process the results, so that the top 15 candidates can be invited to the National Schools Festival in July.

To enter, call: 046 603 1145 or 603 1107: Niki will provide you with the theme for 2008 (and later for 2009)