Two students from different private schools in the country nabbed the winning prizes for the Primary School Science and Mathematics Olympiad yesterday.

During the prize-giving ceremony at the Ministry of Education, Muhd Adib Hj Abu Bakar from Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah School won the best award for the Primary School Science Olympiad (PSSO) and Nazihah Hipni from Tinkerbell Learning School bagged the gold medal after scoring top marks for the Primary School Maths Olympiad (PSMO).

Both champions won $150 dollars, a gold medal and certificates

Lim Ren Wen from Chung Hwa Middle School, BSB was named the runner-up of the Science Olympiad and also took third prize for the Maths Olympiad.

Grabbing the third position for the Science Olympiad was Goh Jing Rui from St Andrews School, who also took the second prize for the Mathematics Olympiad.

According to Hj Metali Hj Mirasan, acting head of Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, only two categories were held as they are holding the competition through the website this year.

"The students are actually doing their exams at their own school premises through the websites," he said, adding that the centre will be looking to introduce the competition to secondary schools.

Previously, only three students used to be selected for the Olympiad, but the new format of doing examinations through websites has seen a rise in more students joining the competition.

"In 2009, we had about 254 students doing the PSSO and in 2010, there were a total of 1,421 students. Meanwhile, there were about 309 students doing the PSSO and 1,106 doing the PSMO," the acting head added.

He also said that the selected students for the Olympiad will represent the country in international competitions.

"At the end of July, a few selected students will be joining the International Mathematics Competition (IMC) in South Korea and in October, some students will also be joining the International Mathematics and Science Olympiad in Indonesia," he said.

To date, Bruneian participants in the Olympiads have garnered one silver and gold medals.

When The Brunei Times approached Hj Metali to ask the reason why many of the Olympiad winners came from private schools, he said that he was unsure and added that this happens almost every year.

He also said that it was STEP centre's hope that these students would continue to be successful in their studies to contribute to the country's development.

The annual Olympiad is organised by the Ministry of Education's STEP centre in cooperation with Brunei Shell Petroleum.

The Brunei Times