The Columba College year 11 pupil was placed second in the New Zealand Chinese Speech Competition held in Auckland recently.
In October, she will head to China to watch the international Chinese speech competition in Si Chung province.
Sarah (15) was one of three people chosen from the South Island to represent her school at the national competition.
Her two-minute speech was based on a visit to China last year. While there, she said she discovered Chinese culture was similar to African, and her speech was about how learning the language meant she could further relate to the culture.
Sarah studied Chinese for up to two hours each night, on top of her normal study, a move which paid off.
Her family moved to New Zealand about five years ago and she started learning Chinese in year 8 at Columba College.
It was not a difficult language to learn but correct pronunciation was important, as different tones could mean very different things. For example, "mother" could mean "horse", if said incorrectly.
The group of four will stay in Chongqing for 11 days.
While there, the three first placed pupils will compete in the world Chinese speech competition.
Sarah will be allowed to observe and plans to return next year as a competitor.
She said she was "very excited" about the trip.
"Most of my classmates were talking about how jealous they were," she said.
There would also be time for sightseeing and other cultural experiences.
Sarah said she had plans to become a translator working for the Government when she was older, and she was "definitely" going to have a gap year in China.
Columba College Chinese teacher Angela Chen will accompany the four pupils to China.
