All-rounder off to Cambridge

Tom Elton is keen to get "immersed in academia" at the British university. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Tom Elton hopes to play in a rugby match against Oxford and take to the stage at Cambridge University's theatre while studying there in a few months.

The 18-year-old former Westlake Boys High School student has won the Girdlers' Scholarship to study for a three-year degree in economics at the top British university.

The scholarship, funded by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers which started as a craftsmen's guild in medieval times, is awarded to one New Zealand "all-rounder" each year.

Mr Elton received the top mark in New Zealand for the Scholarship exams he sat last year, and is studying at the University of Auckland, having won a scholarship there too.

He is a keen rugby player, he captained the Westlake Boys' cricket team, competed in national swimming events since the age of 9 and played lead roles in school productions.

Mr Elton hopes to contribute to extracurricular life at Cambridge when he gets there in September.

But mostly he is excited about being "immersed in academia".

"I am looking forward to learning in a place that is swarming with great economists," he said.