Qualifications and standards

2019 Top Scholarship Award winners

NZQA celebrated the success of the highest-achieving New Zealand Scholarship students with a public announcement on 8 May 2020.

The awards recognised the elite students who make up the 2019 Premier Award and Top Subject Scholarship Award winners.

Prime Minister's Award for Academic Excellence

The recipient of the 2019 award was announced by the Minister of Education, Hon Chris Hipkins – Liam Anderson, formerly of Wellington College.

Winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's Award, Liam Anderson.

Liam achieved Outstanding Scholarships in Chemistry, Physics, Spanish, and Statistics, and Scholarship in Biology, Calculus, English, and Health and Physical Education. He is also the Top Subject Scholarship Award winner for Spanish.

Premier Scholarship Award winners

Liam Anderson* Wellington College	George Bates King's High School
Noah Ferguson-Dudding Rangitoto College	William Han Macleans College
Tessa Herkt Rangitoto College	Joyce Hu Waikato Diocesan School for Girls
Mukund Karthik Botany Downs Secondary School	Tiana Mayo Waikato Diocesan School for Girls
Ethan Ng* Burnside High School	Nicholas Patel Wellington College
Yash Shahri Botany Downs Secondary School	Raymond Zhang Rangitoto College

*Also a Top Subject Scholarship Award winner

Top Subject Scholarship Award winners

Accounting	Daniel Torrey Mount Roskill Grammar School
Agricultural and Horticultural Science	Bianca Green Rathkeale St Matthew's Senior College
Art History	Friederike Voit Rangitoto College
Biology	O’Rorke Smith Dunstan High School
Calculus	Ethan Ng Burnside High School
Chemistry	Josephine Situ Carmel College
Chinese	Jianru Mo Hillcrest High School
Classical Studies	Emma Wong She Diocesan School for Girls
Dance	Isope Akau’ola Mount Roskill Grammar School
Design	Jamie Haenraets King's High School
Design and Visual Communications	Zoie McKenzie Epsom Girls’ Grammar School
Drama	Nelson Sai-Mon Lee Macleans College
Earth and Space Science	Merlyn Barrer Nayland College
Economics	Benjamin Holland Ashburton College
English	Quinn Gray Dilworth School
French	Thomas Brendolise Mount Albert Grammar School
Geography	E Wen Wong Burnside High School
German	Jannik Wittgen Orewa College
Health and Physical Education	Gloria Tuitupou Tamaki College
History	Jesse Richardson Wellington College
Japanese	James Tanuma Onslow College
Latin	Joy Tong St Cuthbert's College
Media Studies	Cybella Maffitt St Cuthbert's College
Music	Sarah Lawrence Rangi Ruru Girls' School
Painting	Elijah Molloy-Wolt Kerikeri High School
Photography	Shaniah-Shane Smith Hastings Girls' High School
Physics	Campbell Jin Westlake Boys' High School
Printmaking	Rosetta Brown Rangi Ruru Girls' School
Samoan	Fiataua Samuelu James Cook High School
Sculpture	Emma Ormsby Westlake Girls' High School
Spanish	Liam Anderson Wellington College
Statistics	Breanna Camden New Plymouth Girls' High School
Te Reo Māori	Pounamu Wharehinga Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Horouta Wānanga
Te Reo Rangatira	Hunaara Waerehu Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou
Technology	Mackey Johnstone St Andrew's College