QA News June 2010 - Issue 68
- Chief Executive's foreword
- Leaders of the future
- Qualification design rules out for consultation
- University Entrance being reviewed
- Marking External Assessment (MEA) Pilot
- Annual Report on NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship
- Moderator-teacher agreement rates rising
- Excellence in unit standards
- Adult Education and Training Qualifications
- Check out National Qualifications Services
- Quality Assurance for Mātauranga Maori
- Feedback positive on kaiako and whānau workshops
- NZQA to contribute to OECD education review
- Top Art on tour
Leaders of the future
New Zealand’s top secondary students had their success celebrated at the annual Top Scholar Awards hosted at Parliament by the Minister of Education, The Honourable Anne Tolley on 6 May.
The awards recognised the achievements of the 36 top-performing candidates in the 2009 New Zealand Scholarship examinations - the Top Subject Scholars and Premier Award Winners.
The Top Scholars Subject scholars achieved the top result out of all candidates in their subject.
The eight winners of the highest Scholarship award category, the Premier Award, gained at least four Scholarship subjects at Outstanding level, OR a total of five Scholarships, with three at Outstanding level, and were ranked in the top three nationally in at least two subjects.
Minister Tolley, His Excellency, The Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand, The Governor-General of New Zealand and NZQA Board Chair Sue Suckling spoke at the awards which were attended by the scholars’ proud parents and principals and members of the wider education community.
More than 9,000 students sat Scholarship exams (or submitted portfolios) in a total of 33 subjects last year.
Along with the awards, the Top Scholars also received financial prizes for their hard-work. The eight Premier scholars were awarded $10,000 scholarships for three years. Top Subject scholars receive $2000 a year for three years for each subject they came top in.
The Scholarship award payment contributes towards the cost of tertiary study within New Zealand. Some of the tertiary study choices of 2009 Premier Award winners include: a conjoint Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science for aspiring composer/conductor Nelson Yuen Sum Lam; a Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences for future software developer Sivasenthuran Manoharan; and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science which Rennie Xinrui Qin hopes will lead to a career in medicine.
As NZQA Board Chair Sue Suckling said, “There is no doubt the Top Scholars will be leaders of the future, and as such, the future is a bright one.”
The eight winners of the highest Scholarship award category, the Premier Award, pose with The Honourable Anne Tolley, The Minister of Education, and The Governor-General, His Excellency, The Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand.
They are:
Back: Paul Johnston, Fairfield College, Jack Dunn, Wellington College, Joel Lawson, Macleans College, Sivasenthuran Manoharan, Hamilton Boys' High School, Stewart Marshall, Wellington College
Front: Nelson Yuen Sum Lam, Saint Kentigern College, Asher Emanuel, Saint Kentigern College, and Rennie Xinrui Qin, ACG Strathallan.