In response to a serious shortage of chemists in South Africa, gifted secondary school students are enrolled in an enrichment program in organic chemistry and encouraged to consider chemistry or one of its related fields as a career. The introductory portion of the program involves approximately 90 hours over a 3-year period while the advanced portion takes 120-160 hours over 3 years. Students are introduced to the chemical industry, the methods and instruments it uses, and the products it manufacturers. They are made acquainted with basic techniques through experiments. The course outline includes the following topics: (1) an introduction to organic chemistry; (2) human chemical intervention; (3) the alkanes, alkynes, halo-alkanes, alcohols-alkanols, alkanals and alkanones, and alkanoic acids and derivatives; (4) drugs; (5) polymers; (6) South African chemical industry; (7) chemistry and agriculture; (8) chemistry for fire technology; (9) chemical explosives; and (10) practical work (e.g., chemiluminescence, distillation, fractional distillation, fermentation). Future plans include enhancement of the computer instruction component, improving opportunities for visiting industrial sites, and encouraging students to publish. (VW)