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Broome student, Abbey Ford, is the individual winner of the State finals of the annual Brain Bee competition held at The University of Western Australia this week.

Abbey (15) is a Year 10 student at St Mary's College and with other members of her team - Simon Hill, Rajiv Latchman and Chelsea Siebert - was placed second in the group component of the competition which tests neuroscience knowledge and understanding.

It is the first time the Catholic college in Broome - which has 270 secondary students as well as students at kindergarten level - has had an individual Brain Bee winner and a team who performed so well.

"Abbey and the team are back home again now after competing at UWA and have inspired the whole school," said college spokesperson Jennifer Cambridge.  "The Year Nines are already asking when they can start training for next year's competition.  Our science teacher, Diana Latchman, did a great job with the Year 10s. She instilled confidence, urged them to reach their full potential and supported them."

Twenty-three other schools and 104 students took part in the competition which was judged by Professor Charles Watson, the co-author of a book that is ranked among the 50 most cited items in the history of science.  Professor Watson also set up the Quit campaign, established breast cancer screening in WA and was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2004 for his work in brain research and public health.

St Mary's Anglican Girls' School in Karrinyup won the team finals, with Perth Modern School in Subiaco third. Cassandra Lee from St Mary's Anglican Girls' School came second in the individual finalists' section, with Zhixian Wu from Perth Modern School third.

Brain Bee State coordinator UWA Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger said the Brain Bee gave students a great introduction to the fascinating field of neuroscience.

"It also encourages them to explore science in general.  We hope to motivate young people to learn about the brain, maybe capture their imagination and inspire them to pursue careers in biomedical research," she said.

Coordinated by the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland, the preliminary round attracted more than 10,000 of Australia's and New Zealand's cleverest high school students.

The WA finalists will take part in national finals in Melbourne in January 2013, with the national winner travelling to an International Neuroscience conference to compete at the international level later next year.

Media references

Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger (UWA School of Animal Biology) (+61 8)  6488 2245 / (+61 4) 11 844 103
Jennifer Cambridge (St Mary's College Community Liaison)  (+61 8)  9194 9508
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716