The Center for African Studies is pleased to announce that three Maru-a-Pula (MaP) students - Vamika Sinha, Tawanda Mulalu and Nandini Kochar - have ranked in the top 15 of the 2015 De Beers English Olympiad. This prestigious English Language and Literature competition takes place annually and receives over 7000 entries from high schools throughout South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. Maru-a-Pula is the only school in this year's competition to place three candidates in the top 15.

All three students have been invited to the National Schools Festival in Gramhamstown from 12 – 17 July where they will enjoy a programme of activities, celebrating English, Drama and Art, culminating in the prize-giving ceremony. At this ceremony, the top three winners will be announced and awarded cash prizes : R30 000 for first place, R28 000 for second and R25 000 for third. In addition, the top 50 candidates will be offered free tuition scholarships for their first year of study at Rhodes University.

The Center for African Studies, in collaboration with the Maru-a-Pula School, one of Southern Africa’s top secondary schools, sponsors the Maru-a-Pula Internship Program each summer. The MaP Program is a fully-funded, eight-week summer opportunity for Harvard students to work and live at the Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana. Since 2008, the Maru-a-Pula Internship Program has offered interns a chance to gain field experience in an African community, through teaching, tutoring, and student mentorship, as well as providing interns the opportunity to explore the cultural richness of Botswana and the Southern African region.