Waitaki Boys' High School

Lachlan Wright

Soon Lachlan Wright’s portrait will hang alongside some of Waitaki Boys’ High School’s best and brightest past students.

The rector at the Oamaru high school has a wall in his office lined with previous Class Act recipients, and Lachlan is excited to join the group.

"A lot of pretty impressive people have come before.

"It’s quite cool to be in their place now.

"We had Joseph Balfe [visit the school] and he got Class Act back in his day, and now he’s going to Oxford."

The Waitaki Boys’ head boy is hoping to embark on a law degree next year, alongside either history, economics or politics.

Lachlan has always had a passion for history.

"I’ve read quite a bit my whole life and I’ve tried to keep doing that as I’ve gone through high school.

"It’s understanding not just the world around you, but also how people operate in it."

While he took inspiration from a range of historical figures, he could not single one out as a role model.

"It’s quite difficult to pin one down because a lot of them have good parts and do amazing things, but there’s also quite a bit of a darker side, so I think there’s a lot of nuance there."

His mother worked in diplomacy and that sparked his interest in politics.

Lachlan has participated in numerous model United Nations and model parliament events.

"You get to read and learn about countries you wouldn’t really think of.

"Generally, we only hear about a few on the world stage.

"I think it’s really interesting to see how, when you’ve got big groups of people, how they come together and what comes out of that, be it on a country level or like a community level.

"I quite like looking at nation building."

He is looking forward to broadening his horizons at either the University of Otago or University of Canterbury next year.

Achievements

Head boy (2025); Waitaki Youth Council (2022-25); school board of trustees student representative (2023-25); NCEA level 2 endorsed with excellence (2024); South Island Rowing Championships men’s novice coxed eight gold medallist (2022); SISS Rowing Championships U18 men’s novice coxed four gold medallist (2022), U18 men’s coxed four bronze medallist (2025); New Zealand Rowing Championships men’s club eight bronze medallist (2025), 5th Maadi Cup U18 men’s double sculls, 7th U18 men’s coxed quad sculls (2025).

Role models

His parents.

Hopes for the future

To study law with either economics, history or politics.

Jett Rogers

Learning is a labour of love for Jett Rogers.

The Waitaki Boys’ High School deputy head boy has devoted countless hours to his studies, including attending tutorials before school.

He credited the efforts of his teachers for helping foster this passion.

"The fact my teachers have been able to put that much effort in as well has definitely been part of why I like learning so much."

Jett is weighing a few different options for tertiary study. He hopes to study engineering at either the University of Canterbury or University of Auckland, or go in an entirely different direction and study a bachelor of science, majoring in physics or chemistry, at the University of Otago.

"I find a real interest in learning about things and understanding the way things work.

"Especially in physics — just understanding why.

"If you throw a ball, what things act on it and why it falls down to the ground and why it keeps on rolling. Or, if it’s spinning, why it goes off in a different direction."

He has been able to grow his leadership skills through his role as deputy head boy and went on the school’s World Challenge trip to Borneo last year.

Away from school, Jett has been rowing for the past four seasons and trains up to nine times a week during the summer.

The Oamaru Rowing Club has a long list of past athletes that Jett looks up to.

"We hear a lot of stories there from our coach about people who have worked really hard at the sport and put that much commitment into it . . . and what can come from that if you truly dedicate everything to something, the amount of success you can see."

Achievements

Deputy head boy (2025); NCEA level 2 endorsed with excellence (2024); year 12 top scholar (2024); South Island Rowing Championships men’s novice coxed eight gold medallist (2022); SISS Rowing Championships U18 men’s novice coxed four gold medallist (2022), U18 men’s coxed four bronze medallist (2025); New Zealand Rowing Championships men’s intermediate coxed eight gold medallist (2023), men’s club eight bronze medallist (2025); 7th Maadi Cup U18 men’s coxed quad sculls (2025).