Outstanding student - five times over

SMART WORK: Jack Dunn's results make the Wellington College 17-year-old one of the top three Scholarship students in NZQA exams.

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Jack Dunn isn't just a smart teen, he is officially outstanding in five subjects.

The Qualifications Authority has released results from 2009 Scholarship exams and the 17-year-old former Wellington College pupils was one of just three students to achieve five outstanding grades last year.

For his efforts he will receive $30,000 toward his studies during the next three years.

Jack received the mail telling him the good news yesterday, just over a week before he heads to Auckland University to study for a double degree in science and engineering. "My first thought was someone was playing a big joke on me and I couldn't believe it at all.

"I had been in doubt if I would get one `outstanding'. It's a huge shock," he said.

Making his achievement more outstanding is the fact that Jack was already a year ahead of his age group.

When he signed up for Wellington College he couldn't get into the school because he lived out of zone.

But with top results in primary school mathematics and science competitions, he was allowed to leapfrog into year 10.

The outstanding marks were in chemistry, physics, statistics, history and, his favourite subject, calculus. "It's the most challenging. It's also very logical, which just appeals to me."

Principal Roger Moses said it was the first time a Wellington College pupil had achieved five outstanding Scholarship passes.

He described Jack as a "grateful and modest" student.

In 2008, Wellington College got the most Scholarships of any school in New Zealand, with a total of 115. With 107 last year, it was unclear if the school would repeat that accomplishment, Mr Moses said.

The Qualifications Authority sent out exam results this week for nearly 8986 Scholarship students.

The agency said that, of those, 2065 pupils would receive a total of more than $3.4 million in the next three years.

That ranged from one-off payments of $500 to $30,000 Premier Awards, to be paid to eight students over three years.

According to the Qualifications Authority, only two other students last year got five outstanding Scholarships.

Qualifications deputy chief executive Bali Haque said Scholarship exams were designed to challenge the most gifted pupils.

To get five outstanding grades was "a tremendous achievement and something to celebrate", he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News