Gold at International Biology Olympiad

The 2017 NZIBO Team to the International Biology Olympiad, held at the University of Warwick, competed with students from 64 countries. The team prepared for the competition by touring Kew gardens, the National History and Science museums, and visited the London Eye, walking for at least 10 Km per day.

The warm welcome, laughter, sharing of ideas with biologists from around the world, and superb organisation of the IBO by the UK committee have been appreciated.

The jurors and team leaders Dr Heather Meikle (Palmerston North Girls’ High School) and Dr Angela Sharples (Chairperson NZIBO, Murupara Area School) inspired by the design of the theory and practical exams which stressed thinking skills and allowed students to learn while completing the tasks. The opportunity to share teaching and learning strategies was invaluable.

Ben Zhang (MacLeans College, Auckland) won a Gold medal and was ranked 26th in the world, Bianca Craill (Avondale College), Jim Li (St Peter’s College, Auckland), and Elinor Wang (MacLeans College) all gained Bronze medals. The students were superb representatives of New Zealand. The team acknowledges the tremendous support from the Talented School Students Travel Award administered by Royal Society Te Apārangi and funded by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

Registration for NZIBO 2017/2018 closes on 5 August and students keen to take part need to register online at www.nzibo.org