McIndoe House Rewards Excellence

By Elaine Kelly | Posted: Monday February 14, 2022

Recently, two McIndoe House boys, Max Cunninghame and Daniel Hayman have done themselves proud and received a Phoenix award for their performance in Scholarship Statistics and Geography.

These boys have been part of the Accelerated Learning Programme which sees them entering for NCEA Level 3 and Scholarship a year ahead of the normal time.

Max and Dan said that the reaction of their whanau ranged from surprise to delight, and McIndoe House joins them in congratulating the two boys who have clearly embraced the school value of Excellence.

Dan said that at the start of Year 12 he wasn’t entirely sure what he was letting himself in for, but he realised that he was being given a great opportunity. By the time the practice exams came around he had fully embraced working at an accelerated level and, like Max was ready to give it his best shot.

Max pointed out that trying for Scholarship a year early has the advantage of giving you two bites of the cherry! “You have nothing to lose and if you don’t succeed in Year 12, you can try again in Year 13 or even look to improve your grade to outstanding.”

Dan concurred, saying that “even if you don’t get the scholarship, it’s good preparation for the next year and for university”. He went on to expand by saying that it means “you can spend Year 13 continuing deeper reading and research and developing a wider knowledge with less pressure”.

Both boys agreed that the experience had made them very goal orientated and meant that they pushed themselves further, rather than taking the easier path. They could see that developing this attitude would stand them in great stead for the future. It also means that they free up some time in Year 13 to work on some University papers or on a leadership role.

When asked what advice they would give to current Year 12 boys who may be contemplating following in their footsteps, they both agreed that “You may as well have a go as it only takes an extra couple of hours or so a week and it is a big opportunity for great reward”.