Top Scholars To Be Recognised at Parliament

13 May, 2009

The Minister of Education, Hon. Anne Tolley will present Top Scholar Awards to the top performers in the 2008 Scholarship exams at Parliament tomorrow, Thursday 14 May.

The 2008 New Zealand Scholarship Top Scholar Awards recognise the 29 elite students that make up the country's Premier Award and Top Subject Scholarship Award winners.

The Governor General, His Excellency, The Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand will co-present the awards.

Minister Tolley is delighted to be presenting the awards for the first time.

"The Top Scholar Awards are about celebrating the best in achievement by our senior secondary school students.

"Premier Awards and Top Subject Scholarship Awards are the pinnacle of secondary achievement. These awards are not only something to be proud of - they are important both to the Top Scholars themselves, and to the country."

Premier Awards, limited to the top 10 Scholarship students in the country, carry a monetary award of $30,000 over three years of tertiary study.

NZQA Deputy Chief Executive Qualifications, Bali Haque, also emphasised the importance of the students' achievement. "We are very impressed by the results of the Scholarship Award winners in 2008, and are particularly impressed by the number of students who won Scholarship in multiple subjects. We would like to congratulate all students who have achieved Scholarships in a very competitive environment."

Note: Media are welcome to attend the event at 10am in the Banquet Hall, Parliament. NZQA can provide photos of the Top Scholar award winners, on request.

Premier Scholarship Award winners are:

Emily Adlam, Diocesan School for Girls (also Top Subject winner in Latin, Physics and Statistics and Modelling)
Jingcheng Bian, Auckland Grammar School
Jacob Diggle, Wellington College (also Top Subject winner in Art History)
Kane O'Donnell, Saint Peter's School ( Cambridge )
Arkesh Patel, Westlake Boys' High School (also Top Subject winner in Science)
Ella Tunnicliffe-Glass, St Cuthbert's College (also Top Subject winner in Geography)
Heath Vinicombe, Westlake Boys' High School
Timothy Vogel, Mount Roskill Grammar School (also Top Subject winner in Chemistry)
Thomas Wilkinson, Papanui High School
Xiaoxiao Ye, Rangitoto College (also Top Subject winner in Maths with Calculus)

Top Subject Scholarship Award winners:

Accounting - Hayden Strickett, Lincoln High School
Art History - Jacob Diggle, Wellington College
Biology - Raymond Chan, Wellington College
Chemistry- Timothy Vogel, Mount Roskill Grammar School
Chinese - Jessie Xing, Mount Roskill Grammar School
Classical Studies - Alex Winsley, Lindisfarne College
Drama - Nicholas Swindells, Kavanagh College
Economics - Thomas Elton, Westlake Boys' High School
English - Jonathan Mahon-Heap, Auckland Grammar School
French - Brittany Challis, Paraparaumu College
Geography - Ella Tunnicliffe-Glass, St Cuthbert's College
German - Theresa Ammann, Logan Park High School
Graphics - Thomas Seear Budd, Wellington High School
History - Ruth Upperton, Palmerston North Girls' High School
Japanese - Mika Umeda, Avonside Girls' High School
Latin - Emily Adlam, Diocesan School for Girls
Maths with Calculus - Xiaoxiao Ye, Rangitoto College
Media Studies - Luke Sizer, Rutherford College
Music Studies - David Taylor, Macleans College
Physical Education - Alice Hickey, Baradene College of the Sacred Heart ( Auckland )
Physics - Emily Adlam, Diocesan School for Girls
Science - Arkesh Patel, Westlake Boys' High School
Spanish - Gisselle Alarcon, Auckland Girls' Grammar School
Statistics and Modelling - Emily Adlam, Diocesan School for Girls
Technology - Kevin Anderson, Otumoetai College
Te Reo Māori - Apirana Pewhairangi, Mana Tamariki (Palmerston North)
Te Reo Rangatira - Apirana Pewhairangi, Mana Tamariki (Palmerston North)
Visual Arts - Tamsin Blundell, Nayland College

For more information contact:

Steve Rendle/Angela Perez
Communications
NZQA
DDI: 04-463-4240
Mobile : 0274-575783