Page/Acorn Engineering Scholarships

For apprentices and employees of Tauranga engineering firms. 

Up to seven Page/Acorn Engineering scholarships are awarded each year, valued at $10,000 over two years ($5,000 to the company; $5,000 to the recipient). These scholarships are open to apprentices or adult employees of Western Bay of Plenty engineering firms who are studying to gain an engineering qualification.

Applications close on 31 March each year and should be made through the participating engineering firm.

Read More

Robin & Anne Scoular Scholarship

For an Otumoetai College student wishing to undertake tertiary study in New Zealand and is intended for a student whose circumstances would otherwise make tertiary study a significant financial challenge.

This $31,500 scholarship is paid in semester installments over 3 years for a student who has completed Years 12 and 13 at Otumoetai College and who is intending to enrol in a full-time degree programme at a New Zealand tertiary institute in the following year.

Enquiries should be directed through the Year 13 Deans at Otumoetai College by calling 07 576 2316.

Read More

Shepherd Fletcher Scholarship

Nick Fletcher and Heather Shepherd are two former long-time teachers from Katikati College who have a passion for learning. Together, they created a scholarship that will give students the opportunity to pursue higher education who wouldn’t otherwise have had the chance to access it. Nick and Heather believe strongly in the value of continuing education as a way to launch students into the next phases of their life. This is their way of continuing their legacy of education in the Katikati community where they spent their lives.

This scholarship is open to students who have completed at least NCEA Level 2, and are finishing their time at college in the year it is granted. The ideal applicants will show tenacity, integrity, and a strong character. Hardship is a determining factor in the award of this scholarship, as the goal is to ensure access to higher education for students who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity.

This scholarship has a value of $3,000 that will be paid out to the applicants at the start of the year following the year it is awarded. It will be awarded jointly by Katikati College and the Acorn Foundation. It is valid for any programme of higher education, including university, polytechnic, employment training, or other apprenticeship.

Applicants should apply directly through Katikati College, and it is only eligible for their students.

Read More

Tauranga Boys' College Trust Garth Sim Centurion Scholarship

The Garth Sim Centurion Scholarship was established by the Old Boys' Association in 2014 to honour Garth's 100th birthday, with the Association funding the first few years of the Award.  The Scholarship is awarded annually to the top academic achiever in Year 12.  When Garth passed away in 2017 at age 102, the Sim family asked that donations be made to the Scholarship fund as a way of honouring Garth's life and enough money for approx. 6 years of Scholarships was raised.

A generous donation from the Robertson family, made in September 2022, will allow the Garth Sim Centurion Scholarship to continue. “We have recently chosen to share some of our business and life success with the next generations in the schools that undoubtedly helped form our character and kindle our ambitions. At TBC we are forward funding the Garth Sim Centurion Scholarship with an invested donation. Luck happens when you recognise opportunity, work hard and take calculated risks!"

The Garth Sim Centurion Scholarship is awarded annually to a Tauranga Boys' College student worth $1,500. Applications are via Tauranga Boys' College.

About Garth Sim

Former Tauranga Boys’ College Principal, Garth Sim lived through two World Wars, the 1918 'flu epidemic and the Great Depression. Born in 1914 on a Waikaka sheep-run in West Otago, the Sim family moved north when Garth secured the top job at Tauranga Boys' College, starting in 1959. As the new headmaster, Garth worked tirelessly to recruit and train high-calibre staff and gave the students a simple mantra: "All that is expected of any boy is his very best at all times,". He was married to his wife Nen for 77 years.

Read More

Tauranga Boys' College Trust - Minola Grant Scholarship

Minola Grant was born in County Berrien, in Michigan in the United States to a large farming family. A gifted and brilliant mind, her parents couldn’t afford to educate her past high school – but she was able to win a scholarship to attend university. She moved to New Zealand with her future husband Donald in 1941, settling down and developing a reputation as a fierce intellect and a gregarious hostess.

Minola never lost her passion for education – or forgot the thing that made attaining university study possible. When she passed away, she willed scholarships to Tauranga Boys’, Tauranga Girls’, and Otumoetai Colleges to help talented students achieve their potential.

The Acorn Foundation administers both the Tauranga Girls’ College and Tauranga Boy’s scholarships, which go to academically gifted students each year who have shown their dedication to their school community. These scholarships vary in value and duration at each school.

Successful applicants will be students of either Tauranga Girls’ College or Tauranga Boys’ College who are progressing to higher education in the year after the scholarship has been granted. The scholarships will be granted by senior staff at each College and will be based on the student's academic dedication and commitment to school life.

Read More

Tauranga Girls' College Trust - Minola Grant Scholarship

Minola Grant was born in County Berrien, in Michigan in the United States to a large farming family. A gifted and brilliant mind, her parents couldn’t afford to educate her past high school – but she was able to win a scholarship to attend university. She moved to New Zealand with her future husband Donald in 1941, settling down and developing a reputation as a fierce intellect and a gregarious hostess.

Minola never lost her passion for education – or forgot the thing that made attaining university study possible. When she passed away, she willed scholarships to Tauranga Boys’, Tauranga Girls’, and Otumoetai Colleges to help talented students achieve their potential.

The Acorn Foundation administers the Tauranga Girls’ College scholarship, which goes to 2 academically gifted students a year who have shown their dedication to their school community. This scholarship comes in the form of a grant of $6,000 over 3 years, paid out in instalments of $2,000 a year.

Successful applicants will be students of Tauranga Girls’ College who are progressing to higher education in the year after the scholarship has been granted. The scholarship will be granted by the senior staff at Tauranga Girls’ College and based on a student’s academic dedication and commitment to school life.

Read More

Tauranga Girls' College Travel Award

Having had the opportunity to travel to over 30 countries and live with other cultures, and understanding the life changing experiences that came with that, Kevin and Jean Walters set up the Tauranga Girls' College annual award through the Acorn Foundation to assist students to travel and broaden their outlook on life.

Read More

Tasman Charitable Trust Scholarships

From 2024, Acorn has been administering scholarships and grants on behalf of the Tasman Charitable Trust at six Eastern Bay of Plenty schools: Edgecumbe College, Murapara Area School, Trident High School, Whakatane High School, Tarawera High School and Opotiki College.

Scholarships and grants are available at each of these high schools annually, for students who are either undertaking tertiary study at a New Zealand institute, or students who have passed NCEA Level 2 and are choosing to undertake further training and/or have been granted an apprenticeship. Applications are made directly at each school and students who are interested in finding out more should contact their school office in the first instance.

Read More

Te Puke High School Butler Scholarship

This $30,000 scholarship for Te Puke High School students has been generously donated by local Acorn donors, George and Jill. Paid over three years, this scholarship is the largest amount ever awarded by Te Puke High School and will provide life-changing financial support to a Year-13 student heading off to full-time higher education.

George and Jill set up the scholarship is to assist an academically able and motivated pupil of Te Puke High School to attain a tertiary qualification, who might not otherwise be able to do so because of financial hardship. The basis of selection will be the student's academic merit, motivation to succeed and “in straitened circumstances” (which encompasses more than just difficult financial circumstances).

Principal Alan Liddle says the scholarship will be a "tremendous, life-long gift to one of our Year-13 students." 

Please contact Te Puke High School directly for more information. 

Read More