• 2026 School Challenge

  • Awards
    The School Challenge celebrates schools that make an outstanding contribution to the Hawke's Bay A&P Show through participation, achievement and involvement across a range of competitions.

    The following prizes will be awarded:

    1st       $500 + School Challenge Trophy

    2nd      $300

    3rd       $200

    About the School Challenge
    The School Challenge recognises schools that actively support the Hawke's Bay A&P Show through participation, quality entries and involvement across a range of competition categories.

    The scoring system has been designed to encourage schools to:

    Involve as many students as possible.
    Enter a wide variety of School Challenge competitions.
    Produce high-quality, prize-winning entries.
    Make a positive contribution to the overall success of the Show.

    Eligibility
    The School Challenge is open to registered primary and intermediate schools.

    Homeschools are very welcome to enter all individual competitions and are eligible to win all individual prizes and ribbons. However, due to the significant difference in school roll sizes, homeschools are not eligible for the overall School Challenge, as the scoring system is designed to compare participation across larger school communities.

    To recognise the wonderful support of our homeschool community, spot prizes may be awarded for outstanding homeschool participation and achievement.

    Scoring System
    Entry Points
    Schools receive 0.5 points for every entry submitted.

    Entry Points are capped at a maximum of 30 points to ensure that entry numbers alone do not determine the overall winner.

    Participation Points
    Participation Points reward schools for involving a high proportion of their students.

    Participation Points are calculated as:

    (Number of Entries ÷ School Roll) × 100

    Participation Points are capped at a maximum of 30 points.

    Prize Points
    Additional points are awarded for prize-winning entries.

    Placing    Points
    1st Place  5
    2nd Place 3
    3rd Place  1

    There is no limit to the number of Prize Points a school can earn.

    Variety Bonus
    Schools are encouraged to participate across a range of School Challenge competitions.

    A Variety Bonus is awarded based on the number of different competition categories entered.

    Categories Entered   Bonus Points
    1 Category               0
    2 Categories             6
    3 Categories             12
    4 Categories             18
    5 or More Categories 25

    For the purposes of the Variety Bonus, each competition category is counted only once, regardless of the number of entries submitted within that category.

    School Challenge categories include:

    Art
    Design, Make & Model
    Handmade
    Pet
    Poultry
    Hobby Horse
    Porklords

    Final Score
    The final School Challenge score is calculated as:

    Final Score = Entry Points + Participation Points + Prize Points + Variety Bonus

    The school with the highest overall score will be awarded the School Challenge Trophy.

    Purpose of the Scoring System
    The School Challenge has been designed to recognise schools that demonstrate an outstanding overall contribution to the Hawke's Bay A&P Show.

    The scoring system rewards schools that:

    Encourage broad student participation.
    Support a diverse range of competitions.
    Submit quality entries.
    Achieve success through prize-winning exhibits.
    By balancing participation, variety and achievement, the School Challenge celebrates schools that make a significant and well-rounded contribution to the Show.

    Tie Breaker
    If two or more schools finish on the same overall score, the following tie-breakers will be applied in order:

    Highest Prize Points.
    Highest Variety Bonus.
    Highest Participation Score.
    If a tie still remains, the School Challenge Committee reserves the right to declare joint winners or determine the winner at its discretion.

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