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NCEA Scholarship Recipients 2021

Cameron McPhail —

Reaching a level of excellence is the pinnacle of the New Zealand schooling system.

Every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people do extraordinary things. Or to put it another way…it is a fact that the students who go to school at 270 Bay View Road, South Dunedin, can and do achieve extraordinary things. 

The 21 young men who we celebrated at the NCEA Scholarship Assembly are a testament to this fact.

34 Scholarships achieved by 21 individual students. Gaining a scholarship pass places each of these students in the top 3% in the country in a subject area, for some in multiple subject areas. Each has reached a level of excellence that is the pinnacle of the New Zealand schooling system. 

It’s not so long ago that just getting double figure Scholarship passes was a cause for celebration at King’s. It is perhaps somewhat remarkable then to consider that in 2021, eight of our 21 successful Scholarship candidates achieved this feat as Year 12s. Those eight Year 12s amassed thirteen Scholarship passes between them. That is the statistic that most stands out – it speaks volumes about the quality of our academic programmes and teaching here at King’s.

To all the staff of King’s High School who have been involved with any of our Scholarship candidates, both successful and unsuccessful, at any stage of their journeys and in any capacity, be it academic, cultural or sporting: your efforts are vital in supporting the culture that has allowed these young men to succeed. Your commitment to our students and their success is appreciated.

I want to make special mention of the following teachers who each greatly contributed to the Scholarship success of these young men in 2021: 

  • Mr Blair Kennedy, Art History; Mrs Vicki Jopson, Biology; Mr Nick Kyle, Calculus; Mrs Lisa Fortes, Chemistry; Mr Andrew McKenzie, Drama; Mr Darren Eade, English; Mr Simon Cushen, Geography; Mr Sam Fielding, History; Miss Jo Dryden, Music; Mr James MacPherson, Statistics; Mr Jesse Farry, Physics; and last but not least Mr Jeremy White for his immense contribution as Academic Dean over the last two years.

Each of the Scholarship winners chose to take a risk when the chances of failure were extremely high. Among tens of thousands of eligible entrants across the country, these young men chose to enter a competition that has such a low success rate that most choose to stay away from it. They chose to dedicate hours and hours of study to the pursuit of personal excellence, when it would have been easier, no doubt, to settle for less.

To those who have attempted Scholarship before. Please do not see your experience as a final failure. Your talent, intelligence, ability, none of that is fixed – embracing and learning from failure is how you grow, improve, and eventually succeed. These winners are proof that it can be done.