GBHS dux
Golden Bay High School dux Bastian Joechle-Rings. Photo: Neil Wilson.
Golden Bay High School dux Bastian Joechle-Rings says he likes to get his schoolwork “out of the way”.
Last Sunday he had completed three hours’ exam preparation by 10am and, when he spoke to The GB Weekly later that afternoon, he was reasonably relaxed about the level 3 Physics exam he was due to sit the next day.
Bastian has every reason to approach his last batch of school exams with some confidence: he already has NCEA Level 1 and 2 certificates endorsed with excellence.
“If he achieves the same result at Level 3 it will put him in the top percent of his year-group in the country,” says Roger File, the principal of Golden Bay High School. “Bastian has been consistently at the top of his peer group at the high school and there’s a very strong top to that group. He’s good at thinking outside the square and he’s always interested in achieving excellence. I was impressed with his involvement in the automotive group that modified the stock car for Patrick Ward to drive. He’s really passionate about engineering.”
Bastian says that he spends most of his spare time doing engineering projects and that he enjoys their problem-solving aspects. He has constructed radio-controlled model aircraft of his own design and from other plans. He has also modified his bicycle by adding the motor from a line-trimmer and experimented with electronic alarm systems and simple explosives.
Being a high-achieving student is mostly a result of wanting to find out about interesting stuff, he says, and for this reason he is really looking forward to 2011.
“I’m going to the University of Canterbury to start an engineering degree. Next year it will be a lot of physics and maths, but after that, if I get into engineering school, I hope to specialise in either electrical engineering or mechatronics – which is a mixture of mechanical and electronic engineering. It’ll be great to be able to go more and more into stuff that I like.”
His first year’s university fees are almost completely covered by the $5000 scholarship he won as dux.
Bastian says that he would not have wanted to go any other school than Golden Bay High School.
“It’s a really great school. I like it because it’s small and the class numbers are small so you can get personal attention from your teachers. I really enjoyed my year 13 year because we had the common room to be in and because we had some freedom.”
Achieving some balance in his life has been one of the recent achievements Bastian rates highly. He describes himself as ambitious, a bit competitive and a goal-setter, but he also says, “You’ve got to fit the fun in, too.”
“My friend Brenton is into his fun and I’ve learned to relax quite a bit this year, so my goal-setting has become a bit more realistic.”
Bastian went to the university’s open day earlier in the year and chose to enrol at the Sonoda hall of residence because it is smaller, quieter and because it requires its residents to be responsible for themselves to some extent. Though he will not be 18 until April in his first year at university, this mature young man clearly values his independence.
“I liked it that the people at Sonoda provide your dinner but you’ve got to get your own breakfast and lunch.”
Our community’s highest-achieving academic looks set to get more good results in the future. While he says he has no idea where he will end up, a career in academia has no appeal.
“I’ll be looking for a practical job, where I can earn a living by solving problems.”
Neil Wilson
