Young academic talent shines

Three NCEA scholarships – Tauranga Boys’ College student Md Shadman Jahin. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

He's just 17. But despite his tender years, Md Shadman Jahin already knows he wants to put his life to good use helping others.

'I do part-time tutoring of other pupils here at Tauranga Boys' College,” says Jahin. 'And it always feels good to know you have helped someone with something when they needed it.”

If his altruism belies his years, so does his academic success. He has just scored three NCEA scholarships in Year 12 – a year ahead of schedule.

'Scholarship is the pinnacle of academic achievement at secondary school level,” says TBC principal, Robert Mangan. And Jahin, a prefect and house leader, has nailed three scholarships, surprising even himself.

'I was a little hopeful with physics, but I didn't expect to get chemistry and calculus.” But he worked on it. 'I studied heaps. Around exams, your main purpose is to study, you put everything else aside.”

It didn't all work to plan; it worked better than planned. 'When my teachers asked me if I wanted to sit all three scholarships in Year 12, I thought I would give it a go and see how I went. And then in Year 13 I would go all out.” History has it that he didn't need Year 13. And Mum, a doctor and Dad, a Plant & Food Research scientist, are understandably very happy, very proud.

'I'm still not 100 per cent certain but I plan to do medicine at Auckland. I would like to be some sort of doctor because I would like to use my knowledge to help people.”

Jahin also scored a raft of achievements at the 2017 TBC academic prizegiving – from the Hale & Associates Prize for First in Level 2 Biology and the Trustpower prize for First Place in Level 3 Chemistry, to the Michael Hoy Cup and the Holland Beckett Law Prize for first aggregate in the accelerate Year 12 programme.

Former TBC pupil, Jack Wade, now studying at Waikato University, achieved all three 2017 scholarships he sat as a Year 13 student - chemistry (outstanding), statistics and economics.

Jack never failed an NCEA internal or external assessment and passed with a perfect score of 403 credits from 403 attempted - 324 at excellence, and 79 at his lowest grade of merit.

He's been awarded the University of Waikato Te Paewai o Te Rangi scholarship - $25,000 over three years. In recognition of his achievements, Jack was awarded the Norman Clark Trophy for top academic scholar - Dux of Tauranga Boys' College for 2017.

TBC topped the local college scholarship results with 26 and 2 outstanding, Otumoetai 15 and one outstanding, Bethlehem 14 and three outstanding, Tauranga Girls College 8, Aquinas 7, Katikati 6, Te Puke 5 and one outstanding and Mount Maunganui 4.

Robert Mangan says TBC's very pleased with the range of subjects across which boys have achieved scholarship. 'Eleven different subject areas shows the breadth of expertise across our teaching staff.”

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