Kuranui College pair given tertiary bursaries

PRIZED: Recipients of the 2013 Rotary Club of South Wairarapa Kuranui Bursary were Renske Van Steensel, left, and Sian Dunlop. PHOTO/DONALD YEE

Thousands of people from Wairarapa, Wellington and beyond pour into the square in Martinborough on the first Saturday of February and March each year to spend the day ambling among rows of stalls offering Kiwi-made goods at the two Martinborough Fairs.

The fair is a significant community fundraiser organised by the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa, which gives away over $65,000 each year in grants, bursaries and finance for community projects.

Each year a pair of Kuranui College students are selected and awarded Rotary Martinborough Fair Trust Bursaries to assist them with attending a tertiary education course.

Beth Taylor, past Rotary Club of South Wairarapa president, and the club's youth committee chairman Alistair Plimmer attended the Kuranui Senior Prizegiving evening to present the award to Renske Van Steensel and Sian Dunlop as the 2013 recipients of the prize.

Mrs Taylor said the Martinborough Fair Bursaries are valued at $4500 each and are awarded to students residing in South Wairarapa who, by virtue of their academic record and from their responses during the interview process, have demonstrated a clear understanding of what they want for their futures and how they intend to get there.

"The students we have selected to receive this year's Martinborough Fair Bursaries have exceeded those criteria. We interviewed six applicants and the calibre of those interviewed made the final decision very difficult."

Kuranui College principal Geoff Shepherd thanked the members of the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa for their support throughout the year. "The South Wairarapa community is extremely supportive of Kuranui College and we are very fortunate to have a strong and enduring relationship with the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa."

Mr Shepherd said the club had funded a number of college projects this year, including funding a bus to the Stage Challenge event in Wellington and helping to send two students to the RYPEN programme.

"The Kuranui bursary is extremely important to us, as it enables two of our students to realise their career potential with further study at a tertiary level."