Sixteen WBOP students about to embark on tertiary education journeys will head off this month bolstered by Bay of Plenty Education Trust financial support.

The students will each receive $6000 in installments during their studies, thanks to the Trust's Science, Technology and Emerging Industries Scholarships.

New recipients are announced each year, and the latest are as follows: Thomas Bayly (Aquinas College), Kelly Chow (Bethlehem College), Madeline Foote (Katikati College), Matt Larsen and Emily Froehlich (both Mt Maunganui College), Erin Chua and Alex Freeman (both Ōtūmoetai College), Te Puawai Rogers-Hall and Santi Sanchez (both Pāpāmoa College), Awanuiarangi Keelan Lawson and Inderjit Singh (both Tauranga Boys' College), Adara Burns and Ojasvini Saily (both Tauranga Girls' College), Laura Morgan (Te Puke High School), and Aria Ririnui and Te Marie Faulkner-Smith (Te Wharekura O Mauao).

The scholarships are also awarded to students at coastal Eastern Bay of Plenty colleges – this year there are a total of seven recipients from Edgecumbe College, Tarawera High School, Ōpōtiki College, Trident High School, and Whakatane High School.

Bay of Plenty Education Trust chairman Nick Earl says investing in the tertiary education of the Bay's young people has long been a focus of the Trust.

It is always a pleasure to award the scholarships, but perhaps especially so now, he says, when students face added pressure due to Covid-19 related interruptions to normal study patterns.

'If we can remove a little financial stress then that's a great thing,” Nick says.

He says the number of recipients to receive the scholarship over the years now stands at 345.

The scholarship value has increased over time, with the total amount gifted equating to $1,835,750.

Scholarship prizegiving ceremonies were not held this year due to Covid Red Light restrictions.

The BOP Education Trust also supports the InStep Programme run by Priority One, and its Eastern Bay of Plenty equivalent, the ToiEDA.

In addition, the board has a Future Leaders Programme.