Very Pleasing NZQA Scholarship Results!

In the end of year NZQA Scholarship examinations, 31 of our students gained a total of 47 Scholarships, with 9 classed as Outstanding, across a broad range of 23 subjects.

Outstanding Scholars Awards
In particular, we offer congratulations to our highest performing students, Kevin Shen, Tiana Tuialii and William Xu, all of whom gained overall Outstanding Scholars Awards. Of note, Kevin is a Year 12 student who gained Outstanding Scholarships in Chemistry, Statistics and Calculus, exams usually undertaken at Year 13. Tiana gained Outstanding Scholarships in English and Classical Studies, and a Scholarship in History. William gained Outstanding Scholarships in History of Art and Geography, and a Scholarship in Calculus.

Scholarship Awards
In addition, Brandon Hoon (3 subject Scholarships), Byron Lam (5 subject Scholarships) and Harry Rillstone (1 subject Outstanding Scholarship and 2 subject Scholarships) are awarded overall Scholarship Awards.

Subject Awards
Other noteworthy performances were from Bentley Atkinson and Daniel Clark, each gaining two Subject Awards.

Scholarship exams are rigorous, requiring high level abstract thinking and the application of knowledge and ideas to complex situations. NZQA’s intention is that 3% of the total number of Year 13 students in the country sitting Level 3 in each of the 27 available subjects will be awarded a Scholarship, provided Scholarship standards are met. Of this top 3% nationwide who gain a Scholarship pass, a small number, equating to approximately 0.5% nationwide will be accorded an Outstanding Scholarship.

At Saint Kentigern, our brightest NCEA students can elect to study towards Scholarship exams. Scholarship exams are offered by NZQA and are, therefore, aligned to NCEA. Where course content is similar, our IB Diploma students can also elect to sit Scholarship exams. However, in many cases this is not possible for some of our brightest IB Diploma students as each year there are examination clashes.

There is great monetary incentive for students to aim to achieve in these exams. New Zealand students who do well in Scholarship gain substantial monetary awards. A Scholarship in just one subject receives $500, as a single payment. An overall Outstanding Scholarship Award is worth $5,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary study. An overall Scholarship Award is worth $2,000 each year for up to three years for as long as the recipient maintains at least a ‘B’ grade average each year of their tertiary study.