The Cambridge way
How do you ensure that you’ve thoroughly prepared prospective students at
your university for success? You develop the ultimate entrance exam which
then also serves as a global marketing strategy and keeps your institution top
of mind with the world’s brightest. The General Certificate for Education
Advanced Level is the foundation for the British education system and was
adapted for the Commonwealth countries; the international certificate is a
further branching out of that programme.
ular Mec
op
RNERS ★
EA
nics for L
ha
★
P
in the first year the programme has
been at the school. Four other kids in
the class achieved near-perfect scores
as well. Now let the fact sink in that
SA regularly is rated at the bottom of
the pile in maths and science among
developed and developing countries.
This is a special achievement indeed.
The sparkling jewel in the
Cape Winelands education
crown is harvesting the
fruits of its A-level labour.
By Lindsey Schutters
60
Dario Trinchero is a rock star at high school. Which is odd, because kids who stand
out by achieving perfect scores on international maths exams are usually on the less
glamorous end of the cool divide. That we couldn’t walk across campus without
being stopped for at least three hugs from girls speaks volumes for how academic
achievement is valued at Somerset College.
But a rock star is only as good as his band. The teachers who helped Dario achieve
his high accolades are equally impressive in their commitment to excellence. Trinchero
is also a regular teenager who gets a bit shy in interviews and seeks the comfort of
his group of friends. Being one of the best maths students in the world isn’t easy,
but you’ll never say so when talking to him.
Yes, a South African scholar achieved 100 per cent in the Cambridge maths exam
www.popularmechanics.co.za _ JULY 2016
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY RETHA FERGUSON
SOMERSET
COLLEGE: STEM school of note
“We started at the beginning of 2015,
so Dario was part of the first AS class,”
explains Gareth Tucker, deputy head
of Somerset College. Tucker runs
the school’s Cambridge programme.
The school is a private entity that
follows the IEB (independent examinations board) curriculum, but also
offers the Cambridge International
Examinations as an option for more
advanced learners.
“We offer a staged route to the
A-level, so the learners write an exam
at the end of year one, which is the AS
or A-level supplementary,” continues
Tucker. “And then they write the rest
of the exams at the end of year two
– which some people call A2 – and
that gives them the full A-level qualification. The exam that Dario wrote
at the end of 2015 was the AS exam.”
The Best Maths Student in the
World claim, that many South African
media outlets led with, isn’t all sensation and exaggeration, either. “We
have the certificate from Cambridge
stating that,” says Tucker.
“Well, best maths student in the AS,
which is international, but obviously
not everybody does it,” Trinchero
interjects.
Achieving a perfect score on what
is considered the toughest high school
maths exam in the world is a special
achievement, made more special when
I’m told that fewer than 10 students
matched this achievement. And
Trinchero is the only one in the southern hemisphere to do it last year.
But there’s more to the Cambridge
story. “You get two Cambridge systems.
Much like our national exam and IEB
exams are based on the same curriculum, but differ in exam questioning
style. IEB is regarded as being at a
higher level,” says Tucker. The UK follows the national Cambridge system,
but about 2 000 schools are now
switching over to the international
programme because of the difference
in levels.
“Some international universities are
now giving credits to students coming from the international Cambridge
programme, so if Dario wants to go
to Harvard with his international
A-levels in maths, he’ll start with second-year mathematics… depending
on how he does this year, of course,”
explains Tucker.
Much like compatriots Siya Xusa
and Elon Musk, Trinchero is bound
for overseas should he repeat his
2015 exploits and get funded. “I’m
applying to a heck of a lot of universities, mostly in America, but also
two local ones because I do believe
that UCT has a very high standard
of physics – as far as I’m aware it’s
the top one in Africa,” he says.
You can’t blame him for first seeking tertiary tutelage outside of our
borders. Although the yearning to
spread his bright brain all round the
globe is something that’s encouraged
at the school. “We’ve allowed him to
fly,” says Meg Fargher, executive head
of Somerset College, of how the school
empowers gifted kids. “We try to take
the roof off so that they can reach
their full potential. All 120 matrics
last year applied and were accepted
at British universities, and that was
straight in with an IEB matric.”
Fargher does, however, state that
it isn’t the school’s intention to
send skills out of the country and
I’m inclined to agree with her.
Somerset College is a private school
that accepts kids from Grade R
through matric. And school fees aren’t
cheap. This culture of excellence is
hidden behind a paywall of privilege
that immediately puts pupils at a
massive advantage to their government school counterparts. The school
doesn’t have things all its own way,
though. It is currently seeking funding to build a centre for the arts that
will also have a maker space.
One advantage of not having
shareholders to please is that the
JULY 2016 _ www.popularmechanics.co.za61
SOMERSET COLLEGE: STEM school of note
them just how capable they are now,
and just watch them fly.”
Dario Trinchero says he wants to
spread his wings in the world of theoretical physics, the field pioneered
by Archimedes and Pythagoras and
expanded by Einstein. If he maintains
his current rate of advancement, my
grandchildren may well be learning
about the Nobel Prize-winning Trinchero theory and I’ll tell them overly
exaggerated tales of when I once
interviewed the best maths student
in the world.
The value of the Cambridge programme is plain to see, but the magic
of it is in the structures and, importantly, the people who facilitate it.
Those teachers and administrators
who offer up their time and experience to build a platform to launch
dreams. Somerset College has built
a solid platform.
PM
school is open to offer bursaries and
financial assistance to children for
reasons other than winning rugby
trophies. Another is that all proceeds
or surplus go directly back into the
school.
“We’re passionate about building
good kids,” says Fargher of the Somerset College ethos. “I’m constantly
sending my teachers on courses to
equip them with more skills so that
we can maintain high standards.”
Walking around campus during
break gives a good idea of what the
school is really like. I was expecting
boys to jump to attention as Mr
Tucker walked by, but it was more
casual conversation and a sense of
mutual respect. This stems from the
broad access the children have to
their teachers.
Fargher shared an anecdote about
62
how Trinchero spent his December
holidays reading through his textbooks and course work. Tucker confirmed the story, adding that he was
sent an email one night detailing all
the minor errors in the physics text
alongside Trinchero’s questions for
the year.
You could interperet that story as
a tale of a very committed student
who has a close relationship with
his teacher. But Somerset College
scholars all have that same level
of access. The school uses Google
Classroom and each class is equipped
with a smart whiteboard, so all
notes and resources are accessible
on the platform. Further reading
from the library is either done on
site, or via the electronic library
system Overdrive.
Using that particular Adobe-based
library service presents a unique
problem because the service allows
lending to a single user-assigned
device only. Somerset College has a
bring-your-own-device policy, so
each child needs to be the sole user
on their smart device. It isn’t outside the realm of possibility given
the demographics of the students,
but rather an interesting insight.
Dario Trinchero
Below: Meg Fargher, executive head of
Somerset College.
Bottom: Dr Alain Renaut
Dr Alain Renaut is excited by the
potential of technology in schools,
but he values the interpersonal relationship between teacher and student
more. He prefers practical explanation
and writing on a traditional whiteboard. With a marker that you can
wipe off with your hand. The former
university researcher first came to
the school on a temporary basis to
help out as a science and biology
teacher, but he soon lost his heart
to teaching young people.
“The young people who choose
to engage with the Cambridge programme are people whom I enjoy
communicating with,” he says of
his involvement.
Trinchero has taken Dr Renaut as
a mentor and it’s wonderful to see
them interact and intellectually
challenge each other.
“My primary vision, and I know it
sounds cliché, is that they (the students) think globally and are aware
of the global aspect – not only in
education, but of themselves. And
then act locally,” Dr Renaut says of
his hope for his students. “I will say
without exception that every single
member of Dario’s class is capable
of making changes in our immediate
world. And who knows, maybe in the
larger world. They are very capable
students and very capable people. I
think our responsibility is to show
www.popularmechanics.co.za _ JULY 2016
JULY 2016 _ www.popularmechanics.co.za63