Whakatāne High School has built an impressive record in the EPro8 Challenge, with its senior team winning its regional heat for the past four years.

That streak continued this year when the team competed at Western Heights High School in Rotorua against schools from the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region.

The EPro8 Challenge involves students around the country, with more than 35,000 tackling a series of science, engineering and problem-solving challenges.

The competition begins within schools and caters for year 5-6, year 7-8, year 9-10 and year 11-13 students, before progressing to regional inter-school events.

During the competition, teams are presented with four technical building options and are judged on speed, accuracy and execution, with points awarded for each completed stage.

Whakatāne High School teacher Erin Nolan accompanied the school teams to the regional competition and was delighted with their performances.

“Our senior team of Esther Pearce, Keeva Laurent, Oli Harris and Alec Simpson won their heat by 102 points. They have now won their heat for the past four years, with three members of the team having also competed together last year,” she said.

“We also had a junior team finish second, which means both teams have qualified for the semi-finals.

“The team impressed throughout their heat with their speed and accuracy and are off to the semi-finals.

“This means Whakatāne High School is one of the top 24 schools in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region and has maintained that ranking for the last four years.”

Last year, Whakatāne High School’s senior team won the semifinals, making it the highest-ranked team in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region.

To futureproof its ongoing success, the school operates an after-school EPro8 club for primary school students.

The programme is designed to support aspiring competitors and attracts students from every primary school in Whakatāne.Participants are divided into competitive and non-competitive groups and develop skills in construction, planning and mathematics.

The activities revolve around comprehensive electronics kits valued at up to $2000 each, funded by Trust Horizon.