FOCUSED: Rennie Qin taught herself English and went on to win three scholarships to pay for her university studies.

When 13 year old Rennie Qin arrived from China four years ago she couldn't speak English and her parents couldn't afford to send her to the "good schools" - but that wasn't enough to stop her from striving for the top.

And now, after teaching herself English and much of the high school curriculum, Rennie's dedication to study has helped her win three major scholarships totalling more than $65,000, which will cover all of her tertiary studies in medicine. The most recent prize, announced this week, is from the NZ Education and Scholarship Trust, which offers $5000 each to eight of the country's top academic achievers.

Rennie's parents moved her to New Zealand for a better education, but "because we didn't have enough money...we couldn't afford a really good school". She started at South Auckland high school where she had to learn English quickly because she was the only "non-English speaking student". That year she was junior dux.

She moved to another school so she could do Cambridge International Exams, but it was so small - fewer than 50 students - there weren't enough teachers to keep up with her. So she turned to the books and taught herself. "It [the school] only had three teachers, it wasn't quite enough, so I had to do a lot of study by myself."

For her final year she moved to Strathallan College at Karaka, but again needed more to fuel her mind than most of the teachers could offer.

"I'm quite curious so I want to find out more about the subject and the content I'm learning, so I get a lot of things from the library and read through them by myself."

After mastering physics, English, biology and chemistry under the Cambridge examinations - she topped the world in chemistry last year - Rennie turned her thoughts to university and her school career adviser suggested applying for scholarships. She tried for three and got them all.

The first is from Auckland University, where she is studying bio-medical science, and covers her course fees and $2500 a year living allowance. The Second, worth about $30,000 over three years, is from the NZ Qualifications Authority. The third is from NZEST.