Going for Gold at Christ’s College
05 Mar 2026
Outstanding Christ’s College students have been celebrated at the Academic Awards Assembly, with five boys receiving the highest honour – the Gold Tie.
Awarded to those students with the highest percentage of NCEA Excellence credits in one year, the 2026 recipients are Ericsson Ye, Nico Blundell, JJ Wada, William Butler, and Tate Aikawa.
Headmaster Joe Eccleton points out that the students’ success “tells a story of hard work, determination, and grit”, with the “boys choosing to be at their best”.
It also underlines College’s commitment to “educating our boys to go out into communities and make a difference”.
Having already achieved their Christ’s College Diploma with Academic Honours in 2024, 15 students have received their Gold Badges and Gold Buttons, acknowledging two years of academic excellence. Charlie de Costobadie, Bill Cross, Max Durkin, Marcello Ferguson, Tom Gardiner, Teddy Hailey, Marco Howe, Noah Kingston, Bill Li, Paddy Newton, Michael Rankin, Joshua Shannahan, George Simonsohn, Thomas Visakan, and Yannis Zhang have all been lauded for their achievements.
Meanwhile, James Melhuish and Justin Wang have received a Gold Badge and been re-awarded Gold Buttons for achieving 70 or more Excellence credits at NCEA Level 2 and at least three previous Colours or Honours awards while Will Crawford and Will Leech have received a Gold Badge and Gold Buttons for their 70 or more credits and two previous Colours or Honours awards. Nisal Pathirana has received a Gold Badge and Silver Buttons for gaining his 70 or more credits and a previous Colours or Honours award.
Five students – Peter Beasley, Jack James, Bruno Kearney, Oliver Sloan, and Willi Stanley – have received a Gold Badge for their Level 2 Excellence achievements.
The celebrations continued in the Dining Hall after the Academic Awards Assembly.
