About 30 have been awarded today, December 29, at the 8th edition of Olympiad Winners Gala. The grand prize of 27,000 lei was awarded to a student of Orizont Lyceum, who had won 2 silver medals and one bronze at international contests, Info-Prim Neo reports. Andrei Ivanov was among the winners of the International Mathematical Contest, the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad and the Balkan Olympiad in Informatics. Valentin Crudu, head of primary and secondary education department within the Ministry of education, announced that the total prize budget was about 1 million lei. The schoolchildren’ participation in regional and international contests cost another 2 millions. Overall, this year Moldovan school students won 2 gold medals, 6 silver and 22 bronze, as well as some honorary mentions. The gold medals were won at the International Ecology Contest in Turkey. The winners received 20.000 lei. Those who returned with silver received between 15.000 and 7.500 lei, while bronze holders got between 10.000 and 5.000 lei. Leonid Bujor, minister of education, said these children were the pride of our country. “These are the most gifted children in Moldova. They are our pride, they boast gold, silver and bronze medals. They have proven their knowledge and honorably represented our country in chemistry, physics, maths, informatics and ecology contests”, he said. In addition, teachers were also awarded during the Gala.