Tomorrow night, Henry Chen will be honoured in a ceremony at Eden Park as New Zealand's top overall student in the Cambridge international exams for 2017, and top in the world for A-level physics.
Henry, who was also dux of Auckland Grammar, scored 98 per cent in physics, 97 per cent in maths, 96 per cent in chemistry and 95 per cent in biology.
"My parents, coming from a strict Chinese family, always wanted me to do well in my studies," he said.
"For the first half of my life it was more my parents forcing me, and at the end it kind of grew on me. I started to enjoy and feel proud of my achievements."
Other NZ students who topped the world in their Cambridge subjects in 2017 were:
• Aimee Erskine, Pinehurst School, Environmental Management.
• Lara Hodgson, King's College, Literature in English.
• Jessica Wu, ACG Parnell College, English Language.
• Jessica Cowie and Sam Anderson, Cashmere High School, Global Perspectives.
• Shray Kamath, St Peter's College, Religious Studies.