2025 NCEA Dux Ava Dilly wins New Zealand’s most prestigious academic honour, earning nine scholarships including four Outstanding Scholarships, one of only 13 Premier Scholarship recipients nationally.
St Cuthbert’s is proud to celebrate another historic achievement, with 2025 NCEA Dux Ava Dilly named the recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Academic Excellence, the highest academic honour bestowed upon New Zealand senior school students.
Ava earned nine scholarships in total, including four Outstanding Scholarships, and was awarded one of only 13 Premier Scholarships nationally. This is the second consecutive year that a St Cuthbert’s student has won this honour.
“We are especially proud of Ava, and of what this achievement represents,” said St Cuthbert’s Principal Charlotte Avery. “Back-to-back Prime Minister’s Award winners is something very few schools can claim, and it speaks to the culture of academic ambition and genuine support that we work hard to build here. In 2025, Jifei Shao (Year 13, 2024) became the first female recipient in 13 years.”
The Prime Minister’s Award was presented at the 2026 NZ Scholarship Top Scholar Awards Ceremony in Wellington. The NZ Scholarship exams are the only nationwide academic assessment open to all schools, recognising the most exceptional scholarly achievement across the country.
St Cuthbert’s had further reason to celebrate, with Bonnie Wang also recognised as a Top Scholar for Latin, an outstanding achievement reflecting the depth of academic excellence across the school.
“While we encourage students to attempt Scholarships where appropriate, we support every girl to achieve her personal best, recognising that success looks different for each individual. What underpins our approach is building their confidence. Our teachers know their students well, and it is those relationships, and the genuine belief in every girl, that makes the difference.”
That confidence is also cultivated at Kahunui, St Cuthbert’s remote second campus, where every Year 10 student spends a month completely off the grid, away from home and their usual routines. At this pivotal stage of their development, students are challenged, stretched, and supported — discovering what they are truly capable of. The self-belief forged at Kahunui carries them into their senior years ready to take risks in their learning, try new things, and strive for their personal best.
