Young SA Learners Take Top Honours at International Science Fair!

Photo Credit: Graeme College

Joshua, a talented young learner – and his fellow SA delegates – have done SA proud after taking top gold and silver honours at an international science fair in Türkiye!

Makhanda, South Africa (11 June 2026) – When hard work meets passion and curiosity, all the good things happen!

Graeme College’s grade 11 learner Joshua Danilatos has recently returned home from Türkiye with a First Place award and Gold Medal from the 1923 International Mathematics, Science and Engineering Fair (IMSEF).

Josh was one of just three South African learners selected to represent the country at the international competition, which brings together some of the brightest young minds from around the world to showcase research and innovations across science, mathematics and engineering.

Hosted in İzmir from 1 to 6 June, the fair is designed to encourage scientific thinking, cultural exchange and collaboration among young people while helping nurture the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators.

Competing in the Biology category, Joshua impressed judges with his project, ‘Catch-and-Release in a Warming Climate: Effects on Reflex Impairment and Stress in Rhabdosargus holubi’.

His research explored how increasing water temperatures affect Cape stumpnose fish after catch-and-release events, sharing valuable insights that could help support fisheries conservation in a changing climate!

Joshua said the recognition and achievement made all the effort worthwhile.

“Winning felt really great. I also felt really lucky and privileged to be able to experience it. It made all the hard work and long hours invested in the project worth it,” he said as per Graeme College.

As exciting as Joshua’s success is, he wasn’t the only South African learner making headlines at the fair!

Connor Kinnes, a Grade 11 learner from Elkanah House High School in Cape Town, also achieved First Place and a Gold Medal in the Engineering category. His project, ‘Project Pathfinder: Design and Optimisation of a Static Test Rocket Motor’, was further recognised as the Best Project in Engineering.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Rorisang Mohau Mohlobuli from Hoërskool Bloemfontein earned Second Place and a Silver Medal in the Mathematics category for his project, ‘Quantifying Goldbach: An Analysis of Prime Pairs’.

Together, they delivered an outstanding performance for Team South Africa!

“Joshua, Rorisang and Connor’s outstanding achievements at IMSEF show what sustained investment in STEM education and youth development can deliver…” shares Parthy Chetty, Executive Director of Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.

For other young people dreaming of following a similar path, Josh believes passion is the key ingredient!

“Just follow your passion and always work hard. If you are investigating a topic that interests you, it will be a lot easier and more enjoyable and won’t even feel like work. Always believe in yourself and your project and make the entire experience an enjoyable one.”