Kaiapoi High School’s Reuben Foulds earned the highest mark in the physics scholarship exam and also earned scholarships in calculus and chemistry in last year’s NCEA results.
Reuben found out about his results by checking online on the morning of their release.
He says seeing his name listed as ‘‘top scholar’’ didn’t quite ‘‘feel real’’ until he read a post on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority’s website later that day.
Earning three scholarships placed Reuben in the top 3% of scholarship students nationwide.
His success did not come from being hunched over piles of textbooks, studying 12 hours a day.
His main strategy was to devote himself to working through past exam papers, around 12 per subject.
When he couldn’t solve a question, he studied the possible solutions and returned to tackle it again later.
Over time, he began to recognise patterns across papers and identify topics that appeared repeatedly.
He learned to break down complex questions into smaller, manageable steps.
‘‘I really enjoyed the physics one. I was excited reading the questions in the exam. I saw them, and I immediately saw the answer,’’ Reuben says.
‘‘I remember one, it was an electricity one about an AC circuit.
‘‘And I remember looking at it for about a minute, and then I figured out how to solve it.
‘‘I was like, ‘wow - that was such a cool question’, in the middle of the exam.’’
Chemistry and calculus proved to be more challenging.
‘‘[With one question] I just had no idea where to start. I was like, I can't wait to get home and watch a video of someone solving that,’’ he said, noting he did exactly that when he got home.
These moments are part of the learning — persistence matters just as much as ability, he says.
He estimates he successfully answered around 60% of the chemistry and calculus questions, a reminder scholarship success ‘‘doesn’t require perfection, just strong foundations and resilience under pressure’’.
Alongside his NCEA subjects, Reuben completed first year mathematics papers at the University of Canterbury last year, achieving 99%, well above the 90% threshold for an A+.
Reuben is now studying chemical engineering.
