The tally puts the school among the top-performing schools in Otago during any of the past three years.
Close behind, with 18 scholarships, was Logan Park High School. Columba College pupils received 16 scholarships and one outstanding scholarship.
Otago Boys' High School's results bucked the trend of girls doing better academically than boys, and rector Clive Rennie was delighted yesterday.
In 2008, pupils from the school gained four scholarships and one outstanding scholarship.
Last year's scholarships were won in a variety of subjects - accounting (1), biology (5), economics (2), geography (1), mathematics with calculus (2), physics (1) and statistics and modelling (3).
Outstanding scholarships were won in biology (2), physical education (1), physics (1) and statistics and modelling (2).
"We had a good year this year. It was a very strong academic group, and also my staff worked pretty hard at putting on extra tutorials as the exams came up."
Mr Rennie also credited the Community Trust of Otago for the success. The trust provided funding for video conferencing, which allowed pupils in Otago to receive tuition from the top teachers in each subject.
"I'm pleased the community trust offers this. No school can afford staffing to run separate scholarship classes at level 4."
Since 2007, the number of scholarships won by Otago secondary school pupils has decreased - from 142 to 134 in 2008, and last year only 121. The number of scholarships being awarded nationally increased from 3036 in 2007 to 3148 in 2009.
Mr Rennie said the decrease in the number of scholarships awarded to Otago pupils was not because of a decline in the popularity of the exams. Rather, it was a reflection of the decline in school rolls in the region.
The exams were for the top-performing pupils at each school, and because there were fewer pupils in Otago, there were fewer pupils of the calibre to gain scholarships, he said.
The scholarships are a monetary award to recognise top secondary school pupils.
While NZQA scholarships do not attract credits or contribute towards a qualification, they do appear on the pupil's record of achievement.
The scholarship exams enable pupils to be assessed against challenging standards, and are demanding for even the most able pupils.
Scholarship pupils are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding and ideas in complex situations.
Nationwide, 2065 pupils received 2778 scholarships and 370 outstanding scholarships in 2009.
