Congratulations to Charlie Etherington (Year 12) who represented the Waikato Under 18 Water Polo Team at Nationals over the school holidays. The team placed 2nd in the Division 1 National Competition. (Photo above)

The band Lo Carb placed in the top 30 for SmokeFreeRockQuest. More than 700 bands from throughout New Zealand enter this fiercely competitive event. Band members Asher Downing (bass guitar), Jackson Norris (vocals and guitar), Finlay Bayne (Drums), and Liam Fairweather (saxophone, keyboard, and rhythm) poured their heart, soul, and talent into the original songs they wrote and performed for this competition. In addition to making the top 30, the band also received a Highly Commended award.

During the July school holidays, Dean and Troy Stirling competed in the North Island Secondary School Clay Target Shooting Competition. Well done on the following results:

Dean Stirling

Single rise event: Score 19/20

Points score event: Score 57/60

Single barrel event: Score 9/10

The total combined score of 85/90 placed him second overall in the juniors.

Troy Stirling

Single rise event: Score 20/20

In the shoot-off: placed 5th overall

Points score event: Score 59/60

In the shoot-off: placed 5th overall

Single barrel event: Score 9/10

The total combined score of 88/90 placed him fourth overall.

Richard Wang (Year 11) represented New Zealand

Congratulations to the St Paul's students who excelled at the first round of Epro8 (inter-school science and engineering competition) earning second place and advancing to the semi-finals. The team had 2.5 hours to tackle various engineering challenges like building washing machines and marble runs connected by working elevators. The next round was even tougher and the group had to create toasters that could launch toast two metres. Despite the difficulty, our students placed 6th, narrowly missing the finals by just ten points. Great effort, team.

Congratulations to Ben Kibby (Year 13), who has doubled the Sporting Cap quota, having played 40 games for the First XV Rugby Team. He has never missed a game since being in the team in Year 11 and we celebrate him on this incredible effort.