Fifteen Year 11 students from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Pukemiro, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe and Northland College are the first from the Far North to take part in the NZ Brain Bee Challenge, or anything similar - and they made the national finals.

The country's "best brain" is about to take on the world. Massey High School student Nicholas Kondal was named New Zealand Brain Bee champion in April

Massey High School student Nicholas Kondal emerged the clear winner of the individual section of the neuroscience-based outreach.

In a close final round, Auckland Grammar student Thomas Chang won the North Island Brain Bee Challenge at The University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences this week.

A record number of National Brain Bee Champions from Wales, Italy, India, Kenya, Canada, Germany, Romania, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Nigeria, United States of America, and the United Arab Emirates, met in Cape Town, South Africa, to compete the fourteenth annual International Brain Bee Championship, the “Olympics” of neuroscience for high school students, approximately 14 to 18 years of age.