Scholars and Honours Board
A special feature of this school is its magnificent academic record. The primary focus of Auckland Grammar School is of course academia – every other aspect of school life is secondary to this. The first lines of our mission states:
“Auckland Grammar School will provide young men with a rigorous academic education. Each young man is expected to pursue excellence in acquiring knowledge and skills while upholding the School’s values.”
The young men who will cross the stage today deserve recognition for academic excellence in 2021. It is important to the very being of this school that we celebrate academia in the manner we do today.
Performance in Cambridge A level examinations and Scholarship examinations or equivalents in different decades of our history, have provided the benchmark indicators for inclusion on the prestigious honours boards that frame this hall.
These boards recognise top academic performers through our School’s history. Students who sat NZ Scholarship examinations and gained three or more scholarships are included on the honours board and both Cambridge and Scholarship results will be recognised in individual student citations read today.
The School through time has used external examinations as its benchmark. Because of their competitive nature and the all-round standard of attainment needed for success, these examinations inevitably favour young men who have been committed to their studies and have built resilience.
The Honours Boards that surround our hall are symbolic of the School’s academic mission and inclusion on them is rigorously earned.
The group of young men we honour today are top academic students from a talented Form 7 and 6A and B who were part of the make-up that earned this school its position as a top performing Cambridge School with nine special awards in Cambridge examinations, which included:
- Eight Top in the World Awards;
- Nine Top in New Zealand Awards; and
- Eight High Achievement Awards
Alongside these awards the School was once again one of the top three performing schools in the country in NZQA Scholarship examinations, after students earned 160 individual scholarship awards in 2021. There is no doubt this supports our vision: ‘pre -eminence in boys’ secondary education.’
It is appropriate on this occasion, in the Great Hall, that we recognise our past – the foundation on which academic success continues to be built. There are many distinguished scholars who studied at Grammar and later received higher honours and academic recognition. Eminent scholars like Professor Peter McNaughton ’62, Professor Keith Hunter ’65, Professor Mark Warner ’65 and many others who have made contributions across a myriad of fields.
It is indeed a feature of Auckland Grammar School that the Honours Boards are around the hall and that we meet here daily – this symbolises the primary place that academia has in our School and is well-respected by our Old Boy community and the general public.
Entry onto this list is restricted to the top 10% of the entire form 7 cohort plus 6A and 6B. The lowest average mark on the Honours Board for 2021 is 92%.
A number of scholars have earned scholarships into NZ universities and many have gained direct entry into overseas universities. This is testament to the calibre of these young men and the support given to them by masters throughout their tenure at Auckland Grammar School.
My thanks to our masters for their commitment to providing rigorous academic courses and pathways, on call mentoring and tutoring that has aided the level of success celebrated. I hope their success serves as motivation for others to strive for excellence in your studies. Such success does not happen by accident.
Sir John Graham, the ninth Headmaster of Auckland Grammar School, offered the students at the end of 1976 the following advice. He said:
“Start thinking about what you want to do, don’t aim for the middle, aim for the top, and the top is not necessarily playing for New Zealand in sport, or being the top accountant or lawyer or heart surgeon. Aiming for the top means aiming for your personal best. It is not unhealthy to aim high; it is not unhealthy to be ambitious, but it is folly not to do your best. If you aim to do your best, you will be well along the way to making life the fun and challenge it should be.”
We have a group of scholars on stage who aimed for the top and reached their academic goals. Their personal best. We congratulate them for “leaving the jersey in a better place” and I encourage each of you to aim for the top in what you do, and enjoy the journey along the way, and the reward if it follows.
We wish each of the young men on stage the very best with their chosen studies in 2022 and their future careers.
Guest speaker Professor Sir Peter Gluckman ’61 spoke to the student body and present the scholars with their certificates and ties; click here to read his address.
2021 Scholars:
Name | Percentage scored and Scholarships | Extracurricular Activities | Area of study in 2022 |
R. Sidhu | 96.8% and 4 Scholarships with 4 Outstanding | Amnesty International Asian Cultural Group Chess Senior Open Interact Group Mathex Mentor NZQA Premier Scholar Award 2022 Prefect Cambridge Outstanding Learners Award – Top in New Zealand for AS Level Chemistry Top in New Zealand Across 4 AS Subjects NZQA Scholarships in Biology, Geography, Health and Physical Education and History NZQA Outstanding Scholarships in Calculus, Chemistry, Physics and Statistics |
7A in 2022 |
M. S. Lam | 95% with 1 Scholarship and 1 Outstanding | Asian Cultural Group Leader Asian Cultural Group Tutoring Chinese Chamber Group Leader Debating Football Grammar Virtuosi Headmaster’s Cultural Committee Interact Group International Student Buddy Programme Proceres Grammatici Symphony Orchestra Tennis |
Health Sciences at the University of Otago |
M. Z. Yao | 94.8% and 4 Scholarships with 1 Outstanding | Asian Cultural Group Asian Cultural Group Tutoring Debating Premier Advanced Kendo Literati |
7A in 2022 |
E. H. Lee | 94.8% and 2 Scholarships | Cross Country Debating Distance Squad Literati Orienteering Programming Group NZQA Scholarships in Physics and Statistics NZQA Outstanding Scholar Award |
7A in 2022 |
E. Manning | 94.7% and 8 Scholarships | Amnesty International Debating Premier Advanced Distance Squad Football 3rd XI Captain Interact Group Proceres Grammatici Spanish Debating Captain World Economics Cup Global Winner Cambridge Outstanding Learners Award Top in World for A Level English |
A conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Economics, Finance and Politics and International Relations at the University of Auckland |
I. J. Mellis-Glynn | 94.7% and 5 Scholarships with 1 Outstanding | Cross Country Debating Premier Advanced Captain Distance Squad Duke of Edinburgh Gold Interact Group New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team Captain Performing Arts Colours 2020 and 2021 Proceres Grammatici Student Representative on the Board of Trustees Tennis 2021 Senior Prefect NZQA Outstanding Scholar Award Top in the World for A Level Economics (96%) Scholarships in English, History, Geography, Religious Studies and Economics Outstanding Scholarship in Chemistry |
A combination of Economics, Politics and/or Public Policy at a university in the United Kingdom or the United States |
J. M. Sandelin | 94.7% and 3 Scholarships | Chronicle Committee Student Editor Cricket Debating Premier Advanced Football Proceres Grammatici 2021 Head Prefect Performing Arts Colours 2020 and 2021 Top in New Zealand for A Level Business (97% ) Top in the World for AS History (94%) Top in the World A Level History |
Law and Arts at the University of Sydney |
D. L. Johnston | 94.4% and 2 Scholarships with 1 Outstanding | Cricket Football Interact Group 2022 Prefect Scholarships in History and Calculus Outstanding Scholarship in English |
7A in 2022 |
S. X. Lin | 94.3% and 2 Scholarships with 2 Outstanding | Premier Badminton Captain Diabolo Distance Squad Football Senior C2 Headmaster’s Social Awareness Committee Interact Group Proceres Grammatici Sri Lankan Cultural Group Table Tennis NZQA Outstanding Scholar Award |
A Bachelor of Science and a Master of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Sydney |
R. Gan | 94.3% and 2 Scholarships |
Asian Cultural Group |
Mechatronic Engineering at the University of Sydney |
Y. A. Bhatia | 93.7% and 6 Scholarships |
Aerospace Group |
A Bachelor of Architectural Studies at the University of Auckland, supported by the Lane Capitals Scholarship and the University of Auckland Top Achievers Scholarship |
S. E. Blyth | 93.5% and 1 Scholarship with 5 Outstanding | Debating Advanced Open Football Headmaster’s Heritage Committee Interact Group Mathex Mentor Proceres Grammatici School Production Student Run Production NZQA Premier Award NZQA Top Subjects Award – Earth and Space Science and Latin Scholarship |
A conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science studying Mathematics and Physics at the University of Otago |
Q. Li | 93.3% and 2 Scholarships with 1 Outstanding | Asian Cultural Group Asian Cultural Group Tutoring Debating Grammar Virtuosi Headmaster’s International Committee Literati Proceres Grammatici Symphony Orchestra |
A Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science potentially with Economics and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania |
W. X. Wang | 93.2% and 2 Scholarships | Asian Cultural Group Badminton Chess Interact Group Mathex Mentor Orienteering School Production NZQA Scholarships in Calculus and Physics |
7A in 2022 |
Y. E. Zheng | 93% and 2 Scholarships | Asian Cultural Group Tutoring Mathex Mentor Proceres Grammatici Student Run Production Tennis Senior B1 |
A Bachelor of Mathematics and Economics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
C. Lin | 92.7% and 2 Scholarships with 1 Outstanding | Aerospace Group Asian Cultural Group Tutoring Electronics Club Interact Group Mathex Mentor Proceres Grammatici Programming Group Scholarships in Physics and Calculus |
Mechanical Engineering at either Washington University or Imperial College, London |
J. F. Mo | 92.7% and 3 Scholarships | Mathex Mentor | Mechanical Engineering at the University of New South Wales |
M. S. Griffiths | 92% and 2 Scholarships | Big Band Chronicle Committee Distance Squad Premier Golf Captain Interact Group InZone Tutoring Literati 2022 Senior Prefect Scholarships in English and History |
7A in 2022 |