Scholarship Examinations

New Zealand Scholarship Examinations

The New Zealand Scholarship Examinations aim to extend the best secondary students and enable top scholars to be identified and acknowledged. Students may enter one or more Scholarship standards but must enter at least three to be eligible for the New Zealand Award (see below). The aim is to assess a student’s ability to synthesise and integrate concepts; to apply higher-level thinking based on in-school and independent learning. For each Scholarship Achievement Standard, two levels of achievement can be gained – Scholarship or Outstanding performance.

New Zealand Scholarship is an award, not a qualification. No compassionate consideration is available for Scholarship assessment, as New Zealand Scholarship recognises actual performance in a one-off assessment.

New Zealand Scholarship Awards

Scholarship candidates need to be enrolled full-time in a secondary school or wharekura. In order to receive a monetary award, a student must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and enrolled in tertiary study in New Zealand in the years they receive monetary awards.

Note: Scholarship monetary awards cannot be aggregated over a period of time. A candidate needs to attain Scholarship awards in the same year to be eligible for the top three monetary awards. However, $500 one-off payments will be granted for Scholarships gained in Year 12, up to a maximum of $1000.

Students studying IB may sit Scholarship. This would be based on additional curriculum.

The Scholarship Awards are:

Single Subject Award

• For candidates who get Scholarship in up to two subjects

• A ‘one-off’ award of $500 per subject

Top Subject Scholar Award

• For candidates who are top in one of the 33 Scholarship subjects

• $2,000 each year for three years as long as students maintain a ‘B’ grade average in tertiary study

Scholarship Award

• For candidates who get three or more Scholarship subjects

• $2,000 each year for three years as long as students maintain a ‘B’ grade average in tertiary study

Outstanding Scholar Award

• For the top 40-60 students who get three Scholarship subjects with at least two at ‘Outstanding’ level or more than three Scholarships with at least one at ‘Outstanding’ level.

• $5,000 each year for three years as long as candidates maintain a ‘B’ grade average in tertiary study

Premier Award

• For the very top 5 to 10 candidates who get at least three Scholarships at ‘Outstanding’ level.

• $10,000 each year for three years as long as candidates maintain at least a ‘B’ grade average in tertiary studies.

St Margaret’s Scholarship Subjects and Assessment Format (if not a written examination)
Scholarship may be offered in these subjects:

What are the Scholarship fees? (Fees as at July 2024)

• There are no examination fees for Domestic students

• International student entry for NCEA standards – $383.30

• International student entry for Scholarship subjects – $102.20 per subject

Special Bursaries and Scholarships

Many business firms, institutions and trusts offer special bursaries, awards and scholarships, which are available for students undertaking tertiary study.  Please see the Careers Advisor for a complete list of these.