OGL Awards programme

The Old Girls’ League AWARDS PROGRAMME

Every year the Diocesan Old Girls’ League presents a number of scholarships and awards to both current and past Dio students. League President, Jenny Spillane, explains what is on offer.

Words like scholarship, bursary and award usually denote success, achievement and recognition. But when you consider the breadth of awards offered through the Diocesan Old Girls’ League awards programme, it’s clear that they are an acknowledgement of so much more. The bursaries, scholarships and other awards that the League provides recognise the history and values of the League and the Old Girls’ community, as well as the importance of the wider Diocesan family.

Dio Today readers will be familiar with many of these awards, as the recipients are often profiled in these pages. The Alumna Merita Award annually recognises one or more Dio Old Girls who have made exceptional contributions in their chosen fields and who, throughout their careers, have exhibited the qualities inherent in our School motto, Ut Serviamus.

However, Alumna Merita and the Old Girls’ League’s support for Women2Watch, are currently the only awards in the programme presented to Diocesan alumnae. All the other awards, scholarships and bursaries recognise the contribution, potential and importance of current Dio girls.

The Mary Pulling Prizes and the Eliza Edwards Memorial Awards sit at the heart of the League’s awards programme. Named after Dio’s inspirational founding headmistress, Mary Pulling, and the exceptional Miss Edwards who brought the School through the difficult days of the Great Depression and the Second World War, these prizes recognise the history, tradition and values of Diocesan and the Old Girls’ League.

There are now six Mary Pulling prizes awarded to girls at the end of Years 7 to 12. The recipients are students who show potential and an outstanding contribution to the School in a wide range of areas.

Of all the Old Girls’ League prizes, the Eliza Edwards Memorial Award is probably the most well known amongst Dio students. Presented each year by the League President as the ‘grand finale’ at Senior Prize Giving, the Eliza Edwards Memorial Award is given to a school leaver who, throughout her time at Dio, has contributed to a wide range of activities, shown high personal standards, and exhibited the qualities inherent in the foundation of the School.

In recent times, the Old Girls’ League has also presented a Junior School Eliza Edwards Award to a girl finishing Year 6 who, like the senior recipient, has exemplified the high personal standards expected by the award’s namesake, Miss Edwards.

In further recognition of how important the School’s history and tradition is in the Old Girls’ League awards programme, the other prizes presented at prize giving are in the name of former headmistress Ethel Sandford. Ms Sandford was known as much for her musical abilities as her energy in developing the School in the early days. The Ethel Sandford Prizes are awarded to two students (one each in the Senior and Junior High schools) for their musical ability and contribution to music at Diocesan.

Few presidents of the Old Girls’ League would pass up the chance to participate in the interviews for the Spirit of New Zealand Trust berth scholarships. For the girls who are interviewed there is no talk of academic, sporting or performing arts success. Instead, the chance to participate in the 10-day Spirit of Adventure voyage with the help of a 50% scholarship from the Old Girls’ League, is all about fulfilling their potential and seeking their personal best. Each year, the League supports five girls to join a voyage, and the only thing more heart-warming than being involved in the interviews is hearing their stories and reading their notes of thanks when they return.

The League’s largest bursary centres on family, in particular the ‘Dio family’. It’s a factor that is central to so many parents’ decisions to entrust Dio with their daughters’ education. The Old Girls’ League Hardship Bursaries pay 50% of the annual tuition costs for up to three years, for each bursary recipient. The purpose of the bursary is to enable daughters and granddaughters of Old Girls to have a Dio education, when financial hardship might otherwise prevent them from doing so. Bursary applications are invited both from families entering the School, as well as those already at Dio who may have experienced a change in financial circumstances.

Whether by design or good fortune, the Old Girls’ League awards programme promotes a special balance of history and tradition, achievement and recognition, promoting personal best, family and our Ut Serviamus values. Guardianship of the programme is a privilege that the Diocesan Old Girls’ League Committee takes very seriously. Respect for these tenets will always be at the core of that responsibility.

Alumna Merita award Women2Watch award