The De Beers 2001 English Olympiad Top 100 winners have been announced by the Grahamstown Foundation, with four of the Top 15 winners hailing from KZN. They are Jillian Ambrose (St Mary's DSG, Kloof); Bhaskar Lakhani (Westville Boys' High School); Shalini Sebastian (Maris Stella School), and Caitlin Venniker (St Anne's College).

This collaborative initiative between De Beers, The Grahamstown Foundation and The South African Council for English Education is celebrating 25 years of enriching leamers through the study of English. The examination drew over 4,000 entries from High Schools across the country, as well as Namibia and Swaziland. The theme for 2001 was Science Fiction and encouraged candidates to tackle the outer realms of That Untravelled World as they explored the writings of some of literature's legendary science fiction writers.

The Top 15 are invited to attend the Standard Bank National Schools' Festival, currently taking place in Grahamstown, as guests of the De Beers English Olympiad. At the official prize-giving on Thursday (July 12) the Top 20 winners will be announced, with the top three being awarded an all-expenses paid two-week literary tour of Britain. The Top 20 winners are also awarded book and cash prizes.

Rhodes University has once again generously offered first-year free tuition scholarships to the Top 5o winners. All Top 50 winners attending the National Schools' Festival will be personally congratulated on their achievement at the English Olympiad Prize-Giving Ceremony.

The theme for next year will be Conflict and Reconciliation in South Africa. Any schools that have not participated previously in the English Olympiad and are interested in doing so in 2002, should contact the Olympiad Officer, to request further information. Contact (046) 603-1145 or e-mail: olympiad@foundation.org.za