2015 Westlake Boys Senior Prizegiving

Joshua Aschebrook

Joshua has shown himself to be an outstanding student in 2015. Attributes such as dedication, focus and being a self-starter have enabled Josh to make the most out of every opportunity that he has excelled in this year.

This was most notable in his performance as Lee Harvey Oswald in the school production of “Assassins”, for which he deservingly received many plaudits. Josh is a terrific young talent, and a deserving winner of this year’s Senior Acting Excellence Award.

Kelby Cai

Kelby has been, in 2015, the personification of the devoted drama student: dynamic, intelligent and passionate. His work this year, whether in- or out-of-class, has been remarkable for both its depth and range, and this was most evident in his creation of Sam Byck, in the school production of “Assassins”.

Kelby’s performance was disturbing and funny, and also deeply sad. Kelby is a remarkable young actor, and a deserving winner of this year’s Brendan Patterson Award for Excellence in Acting.

Arthur Close

Arthur is like many of our most talented Westlake Musicians an all-rounder with experience in many different performance styles. But what sets Arthur apart is the exceptionally high standards he has reached in each discipline. Arthur has been baritone section leader in the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir and is also baritone leader in both Choralation and Voicemale. He has been a senior member of the Westlake Boys Barbershop quartet, which over the last 5 years have won both Auckland and National titles.

Arthur is also an exceptional violinist, and is co-leader of the Westlake Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Westlake Boys Camerata.

Award for Service to the School Library

Eric Lee and Dwight Nicolas

This year, the award for Service to the School Library is presented to two young men. Eric and Dwight have both given five years of service to the Library, and in 2015 they shared the leadership role of Joint Head Librarian. This award recognizes their contribution and commitment to the school’s very busy library – providing a friendly service to students, leading the student librarians’ group and assisting the Library staff. It’s a vital role that enables an essential part of the school to operate.

Alex Burton

Alex was given the challenge of identifying and solving a problem for a client in his level 3 Technology course. Rather than just approaching his friends and family he scoured his local area and finally, after cold calling several local organisations, decided that his client should be the Riding for the Disabled Organisation in Greenhithe, as their need for a horse feedings system was the greatest.  His award for outstanding achievement is not just for the physical making of his product but also for the attention to detail of the design and especially the close consultation with his stakeholders to ensure the design matches their need.

Robbie MacGregor

Robbie chose to complete a product design this year for his major DVC project. Students were to begin this process by using an origin or starting point of their choice, Robbie used water and crystals which later lead to an idea of snowboard goggles. After a few trials and tribulations Robbie’s design process led him to designing a Snowboarding helmet, which integrated his origin and design process successfully. He has been able to use a wide range of visual communication skills this year from Photoshop, Sketchup and rendering techniques.

Braedan Acarapi

After starting Mechanical Engineering at Level 2, Braeden relished the challenge of learning new skills that are normally completed in the second year of engineering apprenticeships.

He produced products that were well finished and met the stringent specifications required by the given engineering drawings.

Steven Yoo

Steven Yoo received only the second Westlake Boys Scholarship from Language Perfect. Language Perfect is an online language learning and testing tool and is very popular with our students. Steven is a keen and committed student who has a self-motivated approach through his work, which is accurate, detailed and of a very high standard. He has made excellent progress in learning Japanese since Year 9 at Westlake. His continuous effort, and his achievement in using Language Perfect in particular, should be commended.

Ihtishaam Muhammed

The Bedford Award in Languages is traditionally awarded to a talented linguist who studies languages to Year 13 level. This is to recognise the dedication and effort it takes to commit to second language acquisition for a sustained period of time. This year, the Bedford Award in Languages goes to Ihtishaam Muhammed, a very talented and motivated student who studied French for 5 years. He came 1st in IGCSE in NZ in 2013 and obtained a Scholarship in 2014. He is doing scholarship again this year in the hopes of getting outstanding. He has been part of the French club since its creation in 2012 and has organised games and activities for its members.

Jaepath Tiakia

Pasifika Award for Excellence is an award that goes to the Pasifika student that has excelled in all aspects of school life this year. This award is hotly-contested every year, and this year it goes to a much deserving winner: Jaepath Tiakia.

Jaepath has shown dedication to schooling and it is fair to say he is ‘a true Westlaker’. Having joined us at the start of Form 6, this young man quickly excelled in the Westlake Boys school environment. His first real mark on Westlake was in the senior boys’ swimming events at House swimming sports.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers Career Assistance Grant

Daniel Lee and George Han

The Pricewaterhouse Coopers Career Assistance Grant has been given to a number of students from Westlake over the years. The PWC grant gives students an exceptional chance to experience life in one of the world’s largest accountancy and consultancy firms. And it pays well too: the recipients will be well supported through university.

This year, two of our top academic students have been awarded the grant. Daniel Lee has consistently been one of our top students at the school, and is looking to specialise in commercial law when he leaves school. George Han is one of Westlake’s most gifted students.

Liam Rawlings

Liam is a very worthy young man who not only achieved outstanding academic accolades but also has leadership, sporting and community service achievements.

The award offers a part time paid internship position whilst Liam completes his studies at Auckland University.

Dhilesh Vasan

This scholarship offers a Westlake student the chance to work at Crosfields School in the United Kingdom for a year. The student is provided with board, lodging and spending money, and in return coaches and tutors students at the school. It is provided by Student Horizons, who help the school run many of its overseas trips.

Dhilesh is a school prefect, a member of the cricket 2nd XI, and a committed coach of younger students at the school, both in cricket, his first love, and football. He is an energetic, determined young man who enjoys excellent relationships with students and staff, and is sure to make a real impression at Crosfields.

Toki Cho

The AUT Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship is awarded to Toki Cho, who has demonstrated consistent academic excellence this year. He is an Excellence student, and has won school prizes in Japanese, (coming first now for three years in succession), and Chemistry.

He is positive, committed and intelligent, and will make a real mark in his time at AUT. The Scholarship pays tuition fees for up to three years study, renewed annually pending academic performance. This is equivalent to $18,000 over the next three years.

Tim Magele and Trent Maxted

The first winner of the Unitec Partner School Scholarship is Tim Magele. The scholarship is worth over $5000 and will pay for the first year’s tuition at Unitec. Tim is a modest, hardworking and committed young man who is determined to succeed, representing the school in Premier Volleyball, as well as at regional and national level. He’s sure to be a great success at Unitec.

The second winner of the Unitec Partner School Scholarship is Trent Maxted. The scholarship is worth $2500 and will contribute towards Trent’s costs in his first year at Unitec. Trent is a committed student who is always respectful and eager to learn. He is on course for an Excellence at Level 3, and will be a great success at Unitec.

Winston Yao

In his combined Mid-Year and End-of-Year examinations, Winston scored an overall weighted average of 95%. He scored around the 90% mark in all of his subjects – he was remarkably consistent – taking two sciences, two languages, and both English and Maths at Year 12 level as part of our Academic Institute. His greatest talent is probably in the area of Mathematics, but he is a genuine all-rounder.

Tyler Smith

Tyler is of Ngati Porou descent. He has been an outstanding student of Te Reo Maori placing first in the subjects for 5 years. He is hard working, supportive of others, and well-liked and respected by his peers, and has been a strong supporter of various Maori events over the years. In general – Tyler has excelled in all subjects due to his strong work ethic and diligence.

Outside the classroom, Tyler has been a leader – having been a member of the premier touch team for 4 years – captaining the team this year. Tyler, a school prefect and a House Captain, leads by example and is well respected.

Rafi Baboe

Rafi is an exceptional young man. He is one of the 2016 senior prefects and it’s for the range of activities in which Rafi is involved that he receives this award. Last year, Rafi was the top academic student in Year 11 and, although, he hasn’t quite reached those levels this year, he has still won academic prizes, and carries with him the remarkable achievement of achieving two New Zealand Scholarships while still in Year 11, something never before achieved by one of our students. He is talented across the curriculum but has a special aptitude in English and History.

Gregory Vukets

This award is given to a Year 12 student who embraces Westlake life in every possible way in the memory of Joe Humphrey, who passed away while still a student at the school in 2009.

Greg is an outstanding all-rounder. A member of the school’s Academic Institute, Greg achieved 97% in his AS Level English Literature while still a Year 11 student, and achieved scores of over 90% in all of his IGCSEs. He is also in his second year as a Premier Basketballer and in his third year in the Premier Volleyball team. He is a national champion in beach volleyball, and is a national age group rep in both sports. He is a committed, dedicated young man.

Riley Cahill

Riley is one of Westlake’s most outstanding musicians. He has been fully involved in the musical life of Westlake Boys since the junior school. As a year 13 he has been a key member of Voicemale, Choralation, the Westlake Concert Band and the Westlake Symphony Orchestra – and has held leadership roles in all of these ensembles. He is an outstanding pianist, able to convincingly perform extremely challenging piano repertoire. Riley has been recognised as one of New Zealand’s most able young composers; this year his composition “The Lightening in Me” was awarded first prize in the National Chamber Music Competition.

Riley is also an exceptional student who has produced a consistently excellent standard of work. He is quiet, independent and self-disciplined, and is hard working and self-motivated. He adopts a critical thinking approach to his tasks and his analytical and evaluation skills are of a very high standard. His Cambridge results have always been excellent, but he also attained three scholarships, including an outstanding scholarship in English as well as an excellence endorsed Level 2 Music result in Year 12. Riley has an exceptional mind.

This prize, though, is for his service to the school. Riley has developed from a young man other students respect to a young man whom other students wish to follow. There is no doubt that he is musically and academically talented, but his real gift lies in his self-deprecation, his offbeat humour, and his capacity to inspire other students to reach beyond themselves.

Keegan Russell

The Wayne Reynolds award is given each year in memory of Wayne, a student who died at a young age while attending our school some years ago, and it is given to a student who overcomes challenges to succeed.

Keegan, one of the new senior prefects for 2016, is a committed, determined young man who is also a role model who sees it as his job to support others to succeed. He has been in the First XI cricket team for the last two years, has played for the Auckland U17 team, and has made the NZ U17 tournament team as well. He has also played for the hockey First XI since 2013, playing North Harbour U18 and U21 hockey, and making the junior Black Sticks team.

On a personal level, Keegan is level-headed, thoughtful, and capable of absorbing others’ emotions without letting it overwhelm him. He has had a year that has been exceptionally difficult and painful – and public. And he has, throughout, been a model student and sportsman, and son and brother.

Ian Lim

Ian is a one-off. He is an exceptional academic student, one of the school’s best, and last year achieved two Scholarships while only in Year 12. He is a Premier Debater, in the Premier Ultimate Frisbee team, an enthusiastic member of the school orienteering team and, perhaps most notably, editor of Backspace, the student magazine, for the past couple of years. Right now, he is piloting it into becoming an online magazine – first edition at the start of next term. His work with other students, especially younger ones, is superb. He coaches a debating team, works hard to develop other students’ writing for Backspace, is an energetic peer tutor, and is one of the most positive, irrepressible people around.

Angus Nicoll

The Juke Jamieson Award is given to a ‘good man’ who represents everything great about Westlake, and is given in the memory of Juke Jamieson, who was a Year 13 student at Westlake when he died in 2009. Angus is very much a Westlake student. His teachers describe him as committed, diligent and unselfish; words like dependable and good-natured are used, as are polite, enthusiastic and kind – which is key. Angus is a School Prefect; he works hard and achieves good results – he will achieve at least a Merit at Level 3 later this year – and he is a committed cricketer and athlete.

The Westlake Boys’ High School Teaching Scholarship is awarded for just the third time this year. This Scholarship is worth up to $15,000 over four years of university study, including a year of teacher training. The school has created the scholarship for two reasons: Westlake wants to encourage our young men to become teachers, because we believe it’s just about the most important job there is to safeguard the future of the country. The school also wants to encourage its students to come back and teach here to safeguard the future at Westlake. The recipient of this award will commit to training to become a teacher, and then applying for a post at Westlake at the end of his teacher training qualification. If we offer him a job, he is committed to accepting a job with us, and joining other old boys who have come back and taught at our school. Angus plans to become a History teacher after University, and credits all of his teachers for their inspiration. He has worked with younger students in classrooms and coached cricket to primary school children. He has seen what it is like to be a teacher and to make a difference. And he will be an outstanding teacher in years to come.

Louis Abplanalp

Louis has been awarded three scholarships from organisations outside school to support his study at university. The William Wallace Award is worth $2500, the First Foundation Award is worth $12,000, and the Sir George Elliot award is worth $25,000, and Louis is one of only three winners this year. It is a scholarship designed to support students in a substantial way through their first degree.

Louis is one the school’s top NCEA students. He completed his NCEA Level 2 course “Endorsed with Excellence” where he was placed 2nd overall within the school’s NCEA pathway. His individual subject highlights included: Physical Education, Physics and English. He is passionate about a career in Science, but he has strengths across the curriculum.

Louis is polite, well-mannered and willing to be a team player. He can be consistently relied upon to present himself in a manner that reflects well on him and the school. He is friendly, likeable and honest. He will always put forward the point of view that he believes in. He will always let you know when he is available and when other events require his attention. Louis is always willing to take on board advice. He will act on this advice in a considered respectful manner and Westlake has found over a number of years that Louis is willing to assist others and will give up his own time to help others. He has acted as an academic mentor for junior students.

Louis is an exceptional young man. Things have rarely been easy for him, and he has had to develop an independent approach to life before most other young people. And this shows. He is mature and responsible – and he has a great future ahead of him.

Andrew Lee

The Headmaster’s Prize for Personal Academic Excellence is awarded to the student who is the second highest achieving academic student in his internal examinations over the two sets of exams. We’ve already seen that Andrew came second in nearly all of his subjects, and so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Andrew has come second overall. Second, at our school, though, is a huge achievement. Andrew is an unusually intelligent, reflective and determined young man. He is one of our most talented academics and musicians, repeatedly winning awards in school and at a regional and national level as a musician.

Beyond the classroom, Andrew is one of Westlake’s most committed and talented musicians. He is a leading member of both the Concert Band and the Symphony Orchestra. He is also a well-liked and respected member of the school community, taking part in table tennis, badminton, debating and peer tutoring activities as a part of his daily life. He is also part of the school’s Amnesty International group. Andrew is an exceptional student with the potential to succeed at the very highest level. He is a School Prefect and, despite his achievements, has an air of both humility and confidence, not easy qualities to reconcile.

Andre Jackson

Andre has been a great role model this year for other students in the school. As Head Boy, he has led by example, his determination to succeed and work hard permeating everything that he does. He has spoken persuasively and eloquently about his drive and his experience of success, and you can see, when he speaks, that younger students are listening. They recognise his commitment and sincerity.

In his academic work, as you have already seen this afternoon, he is exceptionally talented in his chosen fields, especially in the creative arts, excelling in his NCEA subjects.

Andre has been an exceptional leader this year, as he will be as he moves into the future. The Headmaster describes Andre as likeable, modest and capable whose determination to succeed is extraordinary. Something of that drive is evident in everything – absolutely everything – that he does.

Liam Rawlings

Liam is exceptional; talented in the classroom, a gifted debater, and one of the hardest workers around. Much like Andre Jackson, it is his determination that has impressed everyone at Westlake the most. Liam has achieved outstanding scores in his subjects consistently over the years. He has also managed the remarkable feat of achieving NZQA Scholarships in English and History a year ahead of his peers. He has won school prizes and has the ability to become an Outstanding Scholar when he takes his Scholarship examinations at the end of the year.

There isn’t the room to list all of Liam’s accomplishments, but his passion for basketball alongside his hard work and accomplishments in business and public speaking cannot be missed out. He has played for the school since first coming to Westlake, and is an enthusiastic member of the U-19 A1 squad, as well as coaching and playing in another senior team. Liam is, basically a very well-rounded young man, and seems to find the time to do far more than there seems to be time in the day. He travelled to the UK and USA earlier this year. It was an expensive trip, but he earned nearly all the money to go there himself, working two jobs while pursuing all his other interests. On the trip, he shone as a leader: an exceptionally reliable young man whom others regarded with complete respect. The trip also developed him as an individual: the way a person reacts to new experiences is a mark of his maturity and empathy, and Liam is a young man with a wise head on his shoulders.

Liam has been an exceptional student, one with an unusually varied and sophisticated range of skills.

George is simply one of the most gifted students at Westlake and one of the most remarkable young men Westlake has even seen. His skills in Mathematics have taken him around the country and around the world; his achievements in all subjects are remarkable; he has been the top scholar in his peer group since his first day at the school, yet he remains humble, committed to helping others, and very much his own man and a little bit quirky too – but then he is a mathematician.

George is an exceptional young man. He is humble, funny and self-deprecating; he has a vast interest in the world around him; he is passionate and committed to all manner of different ideas; and he matches his skills in Mathematics with a flair for the analysis of literature.