Background of the Trust
The Kiley Family Memorial Trust was established by John and Peter Kiley in August 2000 with the purpose of assisting students to meet their secondary education costs in New Zealand. Preference is given to students from less well-off backgrounds who would otherwise have difficulty paying their school fees and meeting other school costs. Scholarships are awarded in two categories: Secondary Scholarships and Boarding Scholarships. Applications for any field of study will be considered but further preference will be given to those students planning a career in agriculture related fields. Those applicants planning to attend schools in the Taranaki/Whanganui area and those planning to attend Wellington-based Catholic schools may also be favoured.
General Terms and Conditions
- Applications must be submitted via the Smarty Grants application form. The application forms part of this Information Sheet.
- Students must submit their completed application (with all support documents) by 5pm on Friday 25 September 2026. Late applications will only be accepted at the discretion of Public Trust as Trustee.
- Decisions made in relation to any scholarship are final.
- The Public Trust as Trustee may seek further information regarding the applicant from the Principal or Head Teacher as deemed necessary to assist in deciding on any application.
- The applicant's essay is to be tidily handwritten and included as an attachment with your application. Please ensure your writing is easy to read to ensure that your application can be considered.
- The Trustee reserves the right to decline any application containing false or misleading information.
Terms and conditions may be varied from year to year by the Public Trust as Trustee.
Supporting documents must be provided with all applications. Some questions within this application form are compulsory and the Smarty Grants system will not enable you to proceed to the next question if you do not answer the compulsory fields.
All applications must have attached a:
- Signed reference on school letterhead from the student’s 2026 school Principal (or Dean)
- Letter of support for the student’s application from their parent/guardian
- Copy of the student’s 2026 term 2 school report
- 250 word legibly hand-written essay from the student with replies to:
- “What would you like your occupation to be when you leave secondary school?”
- “What are your favourite subjects at school and why?”
Secondary Scholarships awarded will be for a minimum of $1,000 per annum.
Boarding Scholarships awarded will be between $3,000 to $8,000 per annum.
Fresh applications may be lodged annually thereafter for a maximum period of five years in total.
Contact
Further enquiries, please contact Public Trust Charities Team as Trustee on 0800 371 471 or email funding@publictrust.co.nz
More information on the Kiley family can be found here: Kiley Family Memorial Trust Scholarship - Public Trust
