Te Aroha Whaanga-Smith from Napier Girls' High School is among the 2024 Young Achievers. Photo / Bruce Jenkins Photography
Te Aroha Whaanga-Smith from Napier Girls' High School is among the 2024 Young Achievers. Photo / Bruce Jenkins Photography
Many of Hawke’s Bay’s best and brightest high school students have been named on a list of Young Achievers for 2024.
More than 30 students who have been turning heads and excelling both inside and outside the classroom have been recognised with a Young Achievers Award, organised annually by the Spirit of Napier Lions Club and Hastings Host Lions Club.
The star students represent schools from across the wider Napier, Hastings and Havelock North region. This is the 2024 list.
Anna Wilson - Woodford House (horse riding)
Anna is a horse-riding national champion and head prefect at Woodford House in Havelock North.
She won the NZ Pony Championship title earlier this year in Christchurch during the national show jumping championships.
She has overcome an ACL injury and is part of her school’s 1st XI hockey team.
She is an exemplary role model and is the student representative on the board of trustees, contributing maturely and with integrity.
Jett Varcoe - Lindisfarne College (boxing)
Jett is a three-time national boxing champion – holding titles in his respective age groups across the U44kg, U54kg and U63kg categories during recent years.
At the NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Championships last December, he won a stack of para-athletic national titles including in the cross country, 1500m and 800m.
He was named the Paladin Disabled Sportsman of the Year at the 2023 Hawke’s Bay Secondary Schools Sports Awards.
He recently achieved his Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award, volunteers at Sense Rugby NZ and has visited Parliament as an I.Lead disability advocate. Luis, who has a cognitive impairment, wants to continue advocacy work in future.
Te Aroha Whaanga-Smith - Napier Girls’ High School (all-rounder)
Te Aroha is a star all-rounder holding the positions of waiata haka prefect at Napier Girls’ High School and also kaihaka for the school’s kapa haka group.
Te Aroha Whaanga-Smith. Photo / Bruce Jenkins Photography
She has represented at regional and national competitions for many sports including sevens, netball, waka ama, athletics and kī-o-rahi.
She tutors kapa haka and is a top academic having attained NCEA Level 2 and 3 with excellence endorsements as a Year 12 student.
George Prouting - Napier Boys’ High School (rugby)
George is the 1st XV rugby captain at Napier Boys’ High School and has represented the Hurricanes U18 rugby team and Hawke’s Bay U18 rugby team.
George Prouting. Photo / Bruce Jenkins Photography
He also helped fundraise for the school’s Young Farmer Club and is a prefect.
Kayla Van De Ven - Taradale High School (golf and academic)
Kayla is a star golfer and strong academic, having achieved excellence endorsement in Levels 1 and 2 of NCEA and is working on Level 3.
Kayla Van De Ven. Photo / Bruce Jenkins Photography
Kayla is the top-ranked woman across the region for golf and, in 2023, helped lead Taradale High to a national title at the secondary schools’ national golf championships (the first Hawke’s Bay school to achieve the feat).
She has represented Hawke’s Bay in numerous national tournaments and served as captain at junior and women’s inter-provincial competitions.
She is working toward a scholarship to an American Division 1 college where she plans to pursue golf and an academic career.
Eru Heke - Flaxmere College (acting)
Eru is deputy head student at Flaxmere College and a rising acting star.
Eru Heke. Photo / Terry Winn
Eru has been performing from a young age and in 2021 starred in a one-person play on his life, The Hunger Strikes Me.
Mary-Jane Richards - Karamū High School (robotics)
Mary-Jane (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou) is a school leader at Karamū High in Hastings with a passion for robotics.
Mary-Jane Richards. Photo / Terry Winn
She has competed internationally in robotic competitions including representing the NZ Blackbots in North America, Asia and Europe, winning an award in 2022.
She is also a founder and leader of Tūmatarau Pango, a girls-only coding group in Hastings catering for girls in Years 3 to 13.
Osiris White-Munro - Hastings Boys’ High School (environmental advocate)
Osiris is an ambitious student at Hastings Boys’ who is passionate about te ao Māori and protecting the environment.
Peter Hannah - St John’s College (chef and design)
Sophie Webber - Woodford House (triathlon and football)
A 2024 Young Achievers Photographic Exhibition is being held in Hastings (at the old Westerman’s Building in central Hastings) and Napier (at 321 Gloucester St in Taradale) featuring more information on each star student.
