All-rounder wins $55,000-a-year award to study at Cambridge

Ryan Ammar excelled at tennis during his school years. Photo / Supplied

Ryan Ammar is a successful actor, keen musician and accomplished sportsman and has a top academic record.

So it's no surprise the 18-year-old beat other nominees to win the Girdlers' Scholarship - a $55,000a-year award that sends one of NZ's top "all-rounders" to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University.

The former Timaru Boys High head boy won academic, cultural and sports awards in his school years, and was dux last year. He also represented New Zealand as a member of the Young Shakespeare Company, which travelled to London to perform Macbeth at the Globe Theatre.

In 2009, Ryan wrote and narrated the winning entry in the Royal Society of New Zealand's Big Science Adventures DVD Competition.

He also plays piano and saxophone and was in his school's prize-winning barbershop chorus.

He captained the tennis team, was South Canterbury men's champion in 2008 and 2009 and was a South Canterbury hockey representative for four years as a member of the 1st XI.

Ryan says he is looking forward to the small teaching style at Cambridge when he starts studying for an English Tripos later this year - thanks to his scholarship.

Two New Zealand girls are among a group of 36 students who have won $100,000-a-year Robertson Scholarships, which cover four years of tuition, room and board at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, also in North Carolina.

Brenna Cukier, former head girl of Glendowie College in Auckland, achieved all NCEA levels 1-3 with excellence and received an Outstanding Scholarship in English. She is now off to the University of North Carolina to do a bachelors degree majoring in journalism, although she hasn't decided yet whether her career will be in magazines or television.

"Regardless of whether I follow in the steps of Anna Wintour or Katie Couric, I want to combine my passion for journalism with my leadership skills to make a difference in the media industry," she says.

Brenna's proudest achievement at high school was founding its student-run newspaper. She has also written for the College Herald and gained experience at several magazines.

New Plymouth Girls High's head girl and dux literati from last year, Paige Muggeridge, heads off to Duke University for an economics and finance degree after topping all her Year 13 subjects and gaining four scholarships, including one outstanding scholarship in accounting.

She is the Youth MP for New Plymouth and was in the New Zealand delegation that attended the International Model United Nations Conference at The Hague last year.

Paige is interested in a career in business management. She wants to "make a difference to the New Zealand economy through effective business management and leadership".