Congratulations are in order to four of our Year 11 students who did RHS proud at this year's South Island Brain Bee Competition.

The New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge (NZBBC) is a competition for high school students in Year 11 to learn about the brain and its functions, uncover the latest discoveries in neuroscience research, dispel misconceptions about neurological and mental illnesses and find out about the exciting career opportunities brain research has to offer.

Held down at Otago University on the 1st and 2nd of July, Year 11 RHS students Callum and MacKay Wakefield, Evan Ting and Christine Cuizon, competed both individually and as a team in an attempt to join the New Zealand team that will be competing in the international finals.   All four of our students made it through to the semi-finals, making Riccarton the only school to achieve 100% progress to this level.  Callum and MacKay then progressed to the finals, where the difficulty of the questions became even more challenging.  Unfortunately, both boys were beaten to the first three placings during this final round. Regardless, a hearty congratulations for making it to the finals. It takes an extraordinary amount of work to understand the brain at this level.

In addition to the competition, students were able to engage in various other activities such as visits to the anatomy museum, the microscopy labs and a fascinating session in the undergraduate lab, where they were given the opportunity to play with electrical stimulation of arm nerves. 

This was a tremendous trip and fortunately, the competition will open again soon to Year 10 students moving into Year 11 next year.