Year 12 Otumoetai College student Emma Dwight entered her NCEA scholarship exam as a practise run for Year 13 – now she is New Zealand's top student for physical education.

Year 12 Otumoetai College students Cameron Apeldoorn, Katie Wilson and Emma Dwight have been awarded scholarships.

After confessing she attended the study workshops mostly for the free food, 17-year-old Emma was not expecting to pass the exam and says being awarded top student in New Zealand is 'ridiculous”.

'I'm just ecstatic really. I didn't even take Level 3 sports science. I didn't think I would pass that exam when I sat it.”

Emma scored 22 out of a possible 24 for her physical education scholarship exam and was awarded a yearly prize of $2000 for three years.

Choosing to study NCEA Level 2 last year, Emma was given the opportunity to attend study workshops once a week to help prepare her for the scholarship exam.

In May, she will be awarded her scholarship in a special awards ceremony held at the Government House in Wellington which she says will be good to add to her CV.

'It will be a nice thing to say that you have done.”

Unsure of where she will study next year, Emma says the scholarship has opened many doors to her future.

'There's not really been any doors that have been shut.”

Year 12 students Katie Wilson and Cameron Apeldoorn have also been awarded scholarships.

Cameron, 16, scored 28 out of a possible 40 for his scholarship calculus exam and 25 out of 40 for his statistics and modelling scholarship exam, winning $1000 in prize money.

Katie, 17, was awarded $500 for scoring 30 out of a possible 40 for her scholarship calculus exam.

Cameron and Katie are part of an advanced learning programme and studied maths a year ahead of their classmates.

Taking NCEA Level 3 calculus in Year 12, the pair thought they may as well try their chances at a scholarship.

'That's the only one that's really easy to take a year early,” says Katie.

Cameron and Katie also attended workshops once a week for six weeks. Statistic workshops continued for three terms for Cameron.

Following in the footsteps of her fellow students, Emma says she may attempt to complete a mathematic scholarship this year.

The trio would like to thank their teachers who helped them study for their exams.