Empowered to Excel
The Girls’ School gathered in celebration at their 2025 Prizegiving, an event that honoured academic excellence, leadership, creativity and service across every year level. Families, staff and students came together to reflect on a year shaped by growth, resilience and purpose.
In her address, Marianne Duston reflected on the school’s guiding word for the year: empower. She spoke of how this theme has been woven through the development of the school’s new knowledge-rich curriculum, informed by the Science of Learning. Through intentional teaching practice, students have been increasingly empowered to understand how they learn, take ownership of their progress, and grow in confidence as learners.
The ceremony acknowledged a wide range of internal awards celebrating resilience, creativity, service, citizenship and leadership. Students were affirmed not only for achievement, but for the way they model the Saint Kentigern values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Love.
Head Girl Layla Tuala-Glassie delivered a deeply personal final address, reflecting on her leadership journey and the many opportunities that shaped her during her time at the school. Speaking of her own growth beyond her comfort zone, Layla credited the support of teachers, coaches, friends and family, and spoke movingly about how Saint Kentigern had given her confidence, identity and belonging. Her message to younger students was simple: “Dream big, be brave, and never be afraid to try something new.”
Special honours were awarded to Audrey Gu, named Dux of the School, and Monica Qian, awarded Proxime Accessit, recognising outstanding academic achievement at the highest level. Leadership was also acknowledged with Christine Cooney confirmed as Head Girl and Irene Wendt-Latu as Deputy Head Girl for the year.
Prizegiving concluded with a sense of completion and anticipation for what’s ahead; whether that be for our leavers as they cross the threshold into secondary school, or our returnees for next year.
Dux – Audrey Gu
Audrey Gu began her Saint Kentigern journey in 2017 as a Year 0 student and has consistently demonstrated maturity, focus, and academic excellence. She approaches learning with diligence and clear purpose, excelling particularly in Science and Mathematics through her strong analytical and critical-thinking skills. A talented musician, Audrey is also a member of both the Chamber Ensemble and school orchestra.
Proxime Accessit – Monica Qian
A proud member of the Saint Kentigern community since her Preschool days in 2016, Monica Qian is an outstanding all-rounder who excels academically, in golf, and in the performing arts, including a lead role in The Wizard of Oz. She is an independent, driven learner with a strong work ethic and consistent high performance.
Sportswoman of the Year – Layla Tuala-Glassie
Layla Tuala-Glassie has delivered an exceptional year across multiple sporting codes. Her achievements include Year 8 Athletics overall runner-up, Touch Rugby Player of the Year and captain, Tag Rugby Player of the Year, Eastern Zone Cross Country champions, Eastern Zone Netball champions, and AIMS Netball MVP. She was also selected for both the Aotearoa Māori Under-13 Netball team and the Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Under-14 Rugby League team, serving in leadership roles across both.
