Two of NZ’s brightest students

Two students – Hugo Brown (2015 graduate) and Felicity Whale (2016 Deputy Head Girl) – managed to pass 14 New Zealand Scholarship exams between them, four of which were endorsed ’outstanding’.

To put this into perspective, only 3% of students who sit the exams pass and .3% manage to achieve an outstanding endorsement. For the duo to accumulate 14 passes and four outstanding endorsements between them is a rare and impressive feat.

They are two of New Zealand’s brightest students.

Hugo finished NCEA Level 2 and 3 along with three other NZ Scholarships the year prior while in Year 12 – he could have finished school a year early but instead decided to pick up eight more scholarship exams in 2015.

After 30 gruelling hours of exams, Hugo passed all eight exams, was awarded three outstanding endorsements and placed second in New Zealand in Earth and Space Science. This placed him among the top nine students in New Zealand for which he received a Premier Scholarship Award from Prime Education Minister John Key and Minister Hekia Parata.

Felicity also sat 30 hours of exams across both NCEA and NZ Scholarship. She passed four scholarship exams and was awarded one outstanding endorsement. She was also awarded NCEA Level 2 endorsed with excellence, achieving more than double the required credits needed.

The 17-year-old’s achievements place her as one of the top Year 12 students in New Zealand 2015 and the one to watch as she approaches the end of her secondary school career in 2016.

St Paul’s students achieved a total of 47 New Zealand Scholarship passes and nine outstanding endorsements in 2015.

2015 academic results:

• NCEA Level 1 – St Paul’s 96%, NZ pass rate 74%
• NCEA Level 2 – St Paul’s 96%, NZ pass rate 76%
• NCEA Level 3 – St Paul’s 93%, NZ pass rate 63%
• University Entrance – St Paul’s 81%, NZ pass rate 49%
• Cambridge International – IGCSE (Year 11) 97% and AS (Year 12) 100%
• New Zealand Scholarship – 47 scholarships, 8 outstanding. Top school in Waikato/BOP

Tertiary scholarships received:

• University of Auckland $50k – Hugo Brown, Josie Butcher, Bethany Langton
• Russell McVeagh Scholarship $15k – Josie Butcher
• University of Waikato Sir Edmund Hillary $50k – Zoe Lapwood, Jonathan Mayer
• University of Otago Academic Excellence $45k – Bethany Langton, Josie Butcher, Jack Davies, Lara Wilon, Nonthiwat Seehamart
• Lincoln University Rugby full fee – Gordon Fullerton
• Lincoln University Hockey full fee – Declan Keaney
• University Agricultural Leadership $15k – Aubrey Fish Massey
• Lincoln University Global Challenge $6k – McKenzie Lunt
• University of Otago Leaders of Tomorrow $6k – Brianna O’Donoghue, Simon Morbey
• University of Waikato Vice- Chancellor’s Academic Excellence $5k – Christopher Swanson
• University of Waikato Engineering Admission Fees $5k – Reed Fisher, Natasha Peiris, Michael Torrance
• Victoria University Academic Excellence $5k – Jack Schicker, Amy Tombleson
• University of Canterbury EnGenius $3k – Robert Simmons