Students from Hillcrest High School have once again demonstrated outstanding teamwork, creativity and problem-solving skills in this year’s EPro8 Challenge.
In May, Mr Hopkirk and Mrs Langman organised Hillcrest’s in-school competition over two days, with seven teams of three or four students competing each day. Teams tackled three engineering challenges, strategically choosing which tasks to complete in order to earn the highest possible score within the time limit. The event provided students with an exciting opportunity to test their engineering skills while developing teamwork and problem-solving strategies.
The EPro8 Challenge is one of New Zealand’s largest inter-school science and engineering competitions, involving more than 35,000 students each year. Teams work together to solve a range of hands-on engineering and STEM challenges using construction materials, electronics, motors and mechanical components. Success requires effective communication, critical thinking, innovation and the ability to work efficiently under time pressure. Students first compete within their own schools before progressing to regional inter-school events and, for the highest-performing teams, the semi-finals and regional finals. (EPro8 Challenge)
Following the in-school competition, two junior and two senior teams were selected to represent Hillcrest at the Waikato inter-school competition, held in Week 10 at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls.
Our students performed exceptionally well, with one Hillcrest team in each division qualifying for the semi-finals.
The junior team of Ever Tang, Luka Allan, Blake Randall and Hannah Duong produced an outstanding performance, finishing a very close second place, missing first by just 9 points.
Our senior team of Kapisha Kalarathan, Taira Littlewood, Kaysie Fong and Bonnie Yuan also impressed, earning an excellent third-place finish.
Congratulations to all students who participated throughout the competition. Their enthusiasm, resilience and collaborative approach were a credit to Hillcrest High School, and we look forward to seeing what they achieve in future STEM competitions.
