KEY POINTS:
It gave him an "unhealthy addiction to caffeine", but Aiden Varan's late-night efforts earned him the perfect result in his International Baccalaureate Diploma, putting him among the top 0.2 per cent of Baccalaureate students worldwide.
The 18-year-old from Kristin Senior School in Albany got 45 points out of
a possible 45 for his subjects in the international qualification, which Kristin offers as an alternative to NCEA.
Only four Kristin students have achieved the top mark in the 18 years the school has offered the two-year diploma, said assistant principal Debbie Dwyer.
About 35,000 students worldwide sit the diploma each year, about 32,000 in the May session for the end of the school year in the Northern Hemisphere. New Zealand students usually sit the November sessions.
Yesterday Aiden, who moved to New Zealand with his American mother and Iranian father in 1997, said the secret was partly plain old hard graft.
"I didn't lavish in the social life of the seventh form as much as other people and I developed an unhealthy caffeine addiction along the way to stay up.
"But it's nights like that I can look back on and know they were worth something because I did achieve my goal.
"I worked really hard for the past two years. It wasn't just a lottery."
His grades for English literature, French, psychology, information technology, physics, and maths also earned him one of 40 scholarships to Melbourne University, where he will study science and arts.
The scholarships cover tuition fees for up to five years, an $11,500-a-year student allowance, and a free trip home.
Aiden is working during the holidays at the Wild Appetite factory in Albany.
"I pack margarita mix into boxes. It keeps my feet on the ground. I don't go, 'Oh my God, I got a perfect score', because what do I do? I spend eight hours a day packing boxes."
But from the departure lounge on February 15, when he flies to Melbourne, he knows the world will seem his oyster. He's just not sure what he wants to do with it.
"That's a good question. Maybe psychology, or political studies. Or maybe philosophy or neuroscience. I have anything open to me. Some people have a set direction and know where they want to go, but for someone like me I have all the doors open but it's a tough decision to choose which one to take."
He said his mother, Karen Kennedy, was pretty happy. "Mum was blown away. It's good to give her something to be proud of, a story to tell her friends. You know, bragging rights."
NCEA results
* Results for most of the 136,000 students who sat NCEA exams last year are due to arrive in letterboxes today.
* Results will also be online at www.nzqa.govt.nz for students from mid-afternoon today. Students must have registered in the "For Learners" section to check their results and do not have access to those of other students.
* NZQA says six standards had to be re-marked, compared with 17 standards last year.
* Exam answer booklets will be sent back to students by the end of the month.