Two Rotorua students have been selected in a group of seven from around the country to attend a youth science camp in Australia in July.
John Paul College's Eamon Walsh and Kesia Kuran have been selected by the Royal Society of New Zealand to attend Youth ANZAAS (Australia New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science) in Brisbane in July.
Youth ANZAAS is a five-day residential science camp for Year 12 and Year 13 students who have a passion for science.
The New Zealand students will join 40 other Australian like-minded senior secondary school students for a full science programme which will include both lectures and hands on learning in the areas of engineering, soil science, marine biology, animal anatomy, chemistry and genetics at the University of Queensland and Griffiths University.
"This is a great opportunity for talented young New Zealanders to get experience in many fields of science," said Andrew Cleland, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Over 120 students applied to attend Youth ANZAAS, which has always been very popular with New Zealand students. The students were selected not only because they are achieving very highly academically in science but they are contributing to their school community in other ways such as in leadership and mentoring roles.
All the students are interested to pursue science at university.
The Talented School Students Travel Award, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, will fund 70% of the student's travel and registration costs.
This fund supports passionate science students who have been selected on a national basis to attend international science or technology events.
The students selected to attend Youth ANZAAS are:
Eamon Walsh, John Paul College, Rotorua
Kesia Kuran, John Paul College, Rotorua
Neihana Waitai, Nayland College, Nelson
Julia Barugh, Hauraki Plains College
Lara Najim, St Catherine's College, Wellington
Liam Gilroy, Morrinsville College, Waikato
Sree Koikandadai, Avondale College, Auckland