The South African Computer Olympiad is one of the oldest in the world. It started in 1984 when a group of teachers approached Old Mutual for sponsorship. It became a project of the Institute of IT Professionals South Africa – funded by Old Mutual for the next 20 years.

For the first two years, participation was less than 100 but when a two-round format was introduced in 1986, participation went over 1,000 immediately. By 1990 the Olympiad had 2,000 participants per year and was the biggest event of its kind in the world. By 2003 participation had grown to over 3,000 but very few from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.

To cater for a wider audience, a new round, an aptitude test, was introduced and participation again increased; to more than 11,000 in 2003, 13,000 in 2004 and 15,000 in 2005. (See Statistics for a full list.)

Concerned that many learners waited to grade 11 or 12 before taking part in the Computer Olympiad, when it would be too late to make the right subject choices, an aptitude test was introduced in 2006. Numbers again shot up immediately to 32,000 in 2006. This round is now known as the Talent Search and still attracts large numbers of participants.

To cater for the increasing number of learners who take Computer Application Technology or Computer Literacy at schools, an additional competition was introduced in 2010. This is known as the Computer Applications Olympiad to distinguish this Olympiad from the Computer Programming Olympiad.

Currently the South African Computer Olympiad is still one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. It is the only programming competition and the only application competition for school-age learners offered nationally. STANDARD BANK is the main sponsor of the Talent Search and the Programming Olympiad. The Olympiad receives further support from ORACLE and the UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN.

Computer Olympiad

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