Last Friday's assembly gave us the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our 2018 Scholarship cohort.
Following an address by Mr Reddiex and Mr Brewster, 19 boys were presented with a Scholarship Badge in front of the whole school and their parents/caregivers.
Following the outdoor, full-school assembly, staff and students from the Catering Department provided students with a sausage sizzle.
The idea of the event was for the whole school to celebrate the achievements of their peers and to hear first hand about how impressive these results were. Excerpts from Mr Reddiex's speech below, emphasise this;
- Our 49 Scholarships place us 2nd in the South Island, 2nd only to Burnside who with a student population of just over 2500 gained 73 Scholarships.
- There are 49 boys’ school in New Zealand. Of those schools we placed 7th in New Zealand. Just two scholarships away from being 5th, with the top four schools being Auckland Grammar, Westlake Boys’, Wellington College and Hamilton Boys', all with rolls approximately or well in excess of 2000 students and among the elite schools in our country.
- We gained eight Outstanding Scholarships. To get an Outstanding Scholarship means you are one of the top 30 students in that subject in the country. In National Boys' schools, this makes us 4th = . Even Auckland Grammar with their 167 scholarships managed just 12 Outstanding scholarships.
The number 16 represents the number of subjects in which our students gained Scholarships. This tells the story of the amazing depth of talent we have within our teaching staff.
- 27 is the number of students who gained Scholarships in 2018. Our 49 Scholarships were not the work of just a hand full of amazing students.Many of the boys who gained Scholarships would never have entertained themselves as serious Scholarship candidates when they started school. Yet they conclude as some of the most able students in New Zealand in their subjects of passion.