Nicolas up for Selection
By NZIBO | Posted: Wednesday March 14, 2018
Top scholars nationwide compete for places on the Science Olympiad teams. This year two Dunedin students are up for selection to represent New Zealand in the New Zealand International Biology Olympiad (NZIBO).
Nicolas Sinnott, Year 13, Otago Boys’ High School, and Liam Hewson, Year 13 King’s High School, have made it to the Auckland selection camp. This has required these lads to complete extensive online tutorials with study for up to 20 hours per week throughout the summer of 2017-2018, on top of their NCEA exams, school work and summer jobs. This diligence has already seen Nicolas gain a place on the prestigious 2017 “Powering Potential” residential camp for talented secondary students, and a cross-school program sponsored by Untouched World – a ten day program called Water Wise – exposing young minds to the holistic view for water use in central Otago. Nic is heavily involved in the culture of the school, being Head of House, a Prefect, Kapa Haka leader and the Maori Student Leader at Otago Boys’.
Liam is no stranger to success, having been selected for representation multiple times on a national level, as well as gaining a Scholarship in Biology in the 2017 NZQA Examinations as a year 12. Liam competed last year at the 2017 NZIBO selection camp, held in Auckland and Hamilton, and was one of five New Zealand delegates selected by the Royal Society of New Zealand to attend the 2017 Asian Science Camp, Malaysia - an “absolutely incredible experience”. Liam also contributes to the NZIBO, creating advertising material distributed around the country and helping in the tutorial group, and is an Academic Prefect at King’s High School in 2018.
Nicolas and Liam will travel to Auckland together in the April school holidays and spend 10 days at the fully residential camp, completing practical laboratories and field work before they take another raft of selection exams, hoping for that top spot to represent NZ. You can tell these two students absolutely love their studies!
The Olympiad competition has been, and continues to be, a thrilling challenge for the pair, who enjoyed the “eye opening and inspiring” aspects of the tutorial program, and the opportunity to develop critical thinking and interpretation skills applicable to the real world, and the scholarship exams they are likely to sit at the end of 2018.
Both boys have dedicated enormous efforts to the competition and are thankful for the opportunities that it has presented them with, along with the support and encouragement of their teachers - Ms Casey (Otago Boys’ High School) and Mrs Jopson (King’s High School), and the amazing committee of the NZIBO that facilitate the Olympiad.
