Jane Argyle-Reed ALPS joint chairperson, Ashley Kelland, Leandra Fitzgibbon ALPS joint chairperson and Jan Butterick JP, scholarship convenor. Photo Noel LoweThe Ashburton JP Association and the Ashburton Ashburton Law Practitioners Society (ALPS) has announced Ashley Kelland as the Jubilee Scholarship recipient for 2017.

Ashley completed Year 13 at Ashburton College last year, after he successfully passed NCEA in calculus, statistics, geography, history and physics. He has been involved in many activities and teams including house executive, academic competitions, scouts and cadets.

He has gained top of subject and excellence endorsement results for various subjects while at secondary school and will attend Canterbury University where he intends to undertake a double degree in law and science, majoring in geography.

Ashley would like to work for a major law firm, handling criminal cases and eventually become a Crown prosecutor or venture into environmental law.

The scholarship is awarded annually to an “A” student who intends to continue in law and is intended as a contribution towards the course costs.

The 2016 scholarship recipient, Sally Cunneen, successfully completed her first year of legal studies at Otago University and is working a summer clerkship at an Ashburton law practitioner’s before returning to university.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 15 February 2017

Mid Canterbury competitors in this year’s Coast to Coast have been resting their tired bodies after mammoth efforts over the weekend.

Mayfield dairy farmer John Verney finished 95th in the gruelling one-day event, after a disrupted preparation which included a chest infection.

He finished the journey in 16 hours 56 minutes.

A Mid Canterbury contingent entered into the mountain run featured on the podium with Ashburton College Year 12 student Matt Clough first in the schoolboy section and second overall, cutting out Goat Pass in 3 hours 34.18 minutes.

Tim Silva was second best veteran in 3.58.59 and fourth overall.

The mountain run featured celebrity sports stars Richie McCaw and Gemma Flynn; McCaw’s time over the 33km run was 4.20.01 and Flynn’s 5.18.40.

The run, with an elevation of nearly 800m, is a test of co-ordination and strength, as well as speed.

Hamish McFadden was 64th in the two-day individual event, running up the finishing chute at New Brighton beach in 17.19.51.

Verney said he was back at work yesterday and already thinking about next year’s race.

The step up to the one-day event was a challenge, and made harder by feeling unwell at the start of the race.

“The first one and a half hours on the bike I was vomiting, then once I got off the bike I pulled a muscle in my thigh.

“It was painful.”

It also meant the mountain run took an hour longer than expected and he then had to race the clock to meet cut-off times at each of the stages to avoid being disqualified.

“The bad start put me under pressure for the day.”

He made it to the end of the kayak leg with 15 minutes to spare and finally reached the finish line “nearer to 11pm”.

“I kept saying to myself, this is one day out of your life, it is hurting now but if you give up you will regret it.”

Verney said he rewarded his determination to finish with a visit to McDonald’s and a bottle of cider after the race.

And he’s already thinking about lessons learned in transition and on the course for next year.

Verney’s pregnant wife Melissa, who was due on the day of the event, obliged by not going into labour.

By Linda Clarke © The Ashburton Guardian - 14 February 2017

Ashburton College students Samantha McArthur (left) and Bianca Tawatao are back at school after a three-week trip to Germany. Photo Jaime Pitt-MacKayTwo local high school students have been rubbing shoulders and practising German with students from all over the world.

Ashburton College students Samantha McArthur and Bianca Tawatao have returned from a three-week intensive language course held in the German city of Frankfurt.

The pair were joined by students from Australia, Nepal, Brazil, Panama, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and New Zealand.

The course found the students spending half their time in lessons and the other half out and about participating in activities.

A trip to Mainz and Marburg was also on the itinerary.

“The highlight of the trip for me was the lessons,” said McArthur.

“They were really engaging and interesting.”

Tawatao also said, “For me the highlight was meeting all the different people.”

This was not the first trip to Germany for the pair however, as both had taken part in the school’s German tour last year.

The trips weren’t without their differences though.

“This trip was more education-based whereas the school trip was more culture-focused,” said McArthur.

These are not the only students this year from the college who will be making the 20-plus hour trip.

One student will be returning early in March after visiting on the NZIIU scholarship, while three others have returned with their host buddies after an exchange to the Pascal Gymnasium in Grevenbroich.

The college will also play host to a tour group from the Pascal Gymnasium in early April.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 14 February 2017