BADGE OF
HONOUR “We are very proud of the results that our students have achieved through their hard work and dedication, and we thank the teaching staff for all the work they do to support and nurture the girls in their learning journeys. The exceptional achievements are testament to the commitment of both students and staff during what was an unprecedented and challenging year.” Margaret van Meeuwen, Head of Senior School
2020 Examination results SCHOLARSHIP Students at Diocesan School for Girls have again gained exceptional results in New Zealand’s top Scholarship examinations, with two Year 11 students gaining Scholarships after taking the exam two years early. Sarah Ellis, who has been at Dio for three years, gained a Scholarship in calculus, and Alexandra Young gained a Scholarship in design and visual communication (DVC). Alexandra worked on a redesign of the School’s drive-through shelter, inspired by the late Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid, as part of her Scholarship DVC submission. She said, “I found her inspirational and really liked her design process and the fantastic and interesting buildings that resulted. The DVC teachers at Dio were great at encouraging us to do well and helped us learn useful skills to extend our work, including computer software and drawing techniques.” Calculus Scholarship recipient Sarah Ellis says she found the additional 18
workload exciting rather than daunting, helped by her passion for maths, which she’s had from an early age. In addition to her schoolwork, Sarah has also started some first-year maths papers at Massey University. In 2019, Year 11 student Arielle Freidlander achieved the same feat with a Scholarship in history. She went on to repeat this success in Year 12, when she gained another history Scholarship. In total, Dio students were awarded 38 Scholarships in 2020, with more than a quarter going to Year 12 students. The Scholarships were spread across faculties and reflected outstanding achievements across a broad spectrum of subjects. The Arts Faculty, with a total of nine, achieved the most of any faculty at Diocesan with three in drama, three in music, two in dance and one in photography. Only 13 Scholarships were given nationwide in dance, so to gain two is an outstanding achievement! There were seven scholarships in biology and another seven in health and physical education. Each of these faculties received one Outstanding result.
NCEA The School also scored outstanding results in NCEA across all levels, with
more than 95% of students achieving University Entrance last year, nearly double the national average. We are very proud of the continued success of our girls. The results are a real reflection of the dedication of the staff, and the mahi of the girls during an extraordinary year, as they worked both online and within the school environment.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE In addition, four students scored 40 or higher in their International Baccalaureate examinations – Diane Wang (42), Sarina Mackey (41), Deborah Huang (40) and Zoe Zhu (40). These grades placed the girls in the top 6% of students across the world. We were delighted to have the four students recognised at the prestigious IB Diploma Top Scholar Award Ceremony, which was held at Diocesan in the new Arts auditorium in February this year. Deborah and Zoe were in New Zealand and able to attend the ceremony; Sarina and Diane were overseas and watching the live stream. We are so proud of all their achievements and watch with interest where their studies take them in the future.
DIO TODAY
17-41_Dio Today_Learning V7.indd 18
1/07/21 2:17 PM
