Five questions with NCEA Level 3 Excellence student, Luka Foy.

What subjects are you studying this year? Chemistry, Calculus, Statistics, Biology, History and RE

How did you organise your studies during Level 4? During lock-down, I tried to plan out in my head when and how I was going to stay up-to-date all my work, and made sure I had spare time to keep my lifestyle balanced. This plan was a lot harder to maintain than I expected (for Calculus, Chemistry and Biology in particular) and I found myself procrastinating a lot. However, I also had far more time to study as I would be in the pool or the gym training for around 16 hours a week and working a shift on Sundays on top of my schoolwork. Having that surplus time to use for study that definitely helped me to stay on top of my study, even with procrastination.

What is your favourite subject and why? At the moment I'm enjoying Chemistry a lot, the coursework is well spaced out, so we have more time to revise, making it less stressful than some of my other subjects. Also, it brings many elements from areas in other STEM subjects such as logic, math, diagrams and analysis.

What advice would you give any students striving for Excellence? I'd advise any students striving for excellence to make the most of the time that they have by making a plan regarding upcoming internals/revision, and balance your study with exercise. Trust me, finishing an essay the night before it's due is not ideal, so try to reduce procrastination as much as possible. Additionally, I think prioritising your work is very important. For example, I'd personally focus on finishing an internal due next week over revising notes for an exam at the end of the year. Finally, don't be discouraged if you have an unproductive day, but try to learn from it. However most importantly, all this might not work for you, so try experimenting to find out what does work and that will help you immensely.

What are your plans for next year? At this stage, I'm planning on studying a Bachelor of Science with a major in Medicinal Chemistry and a minor in Statistics at the University of Canterbury, continuing to swim competitively at Vikings Swim Club in Christchurch. Although right now, I'm still keeping my options for a degree open.