Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, has honoured 46 outstanding students for their high achievements during their last six years of secondary schooling.

In a special awards reception, Cardinal Pell presented a medal and Certificate to each student awarded the Archbishop of Sydney Award for Student Excellence at St Mary's Cathedral today.

The prestigious annual award by the Archbishop is recognition of the students' achievements in a range of areas including leadership, commitment to social justice, excellent academic results, sporting success, community work, and talents in all facets of their secondary schooling.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Cardinal Pell congratulated each student recipient for their "wonderful list of qualities", some of which included a commitment to faith, contribution to school life and service to communities and the disadvantaged.

He acknowledged that he was always "encouraged and pleased" by students in Sydney's Catholic schools since visiting 130 of 167 of them located in the Archdiocese of Sydney in the last eight years.

Addressing the students in a packed Cathedral, he told them how he was also pleased that a number of them had been actively involved in World Youth Day.

"Your goodness, faith, joy and enthusiasm won over an entire city," he said. "My personal experience when I visit Catholic schools was replicated to the thousands of Sydneysiders, who got to experience the same goodness, faith and hope during WYD."

He said: "Pilgrims themselves were the stars of World Youth Day, especially among the non-Catholics in Sydney."

In concluding the awards presentation, the Archbishop also reminded them of a regular Christian teaching.

"We are called to be life-giving and use what we have, regardless of how many talents we have."

Br Kelvin Canavan, Executive Director of Schools in the Sydney Archdiocese, also congratulated the students on receiving this prestigious award.

"This is the tenth occasion that the Archbishop has recognised the high achievers in Sydney's Catholic schools," he said.

One student from each Catholic secondary college in the Archdiocese of Sydney has been nominated for the Archbishop of Sydney Award for Student Excellence since 1999. This year, the cohort existed of 6000 students.

The recipients of the 2008 award were:

Diana Vincent - All Saints Catholic Senior College, Casula
Danielle Smith - Aquinas College, Menai
Atelaite Vea - Bethany College, Hurstville
Ashley Kadib - Bethlehem College, Ashfield
Jaclyn Egan - Brigidine College, Randwick
Daniela Tavares - Casimir Catholic College, Marrickville
James Azzi - Christian Brothers High School, Lewisham
Bol Bol - De La Salle College, Ashfield
Mimi Gomez - De La Salle College, Cronulla
Thomas Wilson - De La Salle College, Revesby Heights
Rebecca James - Domremy College, Five Dock
Christopher Cordina - Freeman Catholic College, Bonnyrigg Heights
Maryann Wright - Good Samaritan Catholic College, Hinchinbrook
Xavier Marcellino - Holy Cross College, Ryde
Daniel Dib - Holy Spirit College, Lakemba
Sharon Ningiga - Kincoppal-Rose Bay
Tim Nguyen - LaSalle Catholic College, Bankstown
Emily Hartman - Loreto, Kirribilli
Thomas Bracken - Marcellin College, Randwick
Leslie Maroun - Marist College Eastwood
Peter Moawad - Marist College, Kogarah
Benjamin Kellan - Marist College North Shore
Daniel Pieszko - Marist College, Pagewood
Danielle Antoun - Marist Sisters' College, Woolwich
Tanya Miocic - Mary MacKillop College, Wakeley
Dominique Scenna - Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College, North Sydney
Veronica Lawler - Mount St Joseph, Milperra
Rosey Yazbek - Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Kensington
Nicholas Brescia - Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield
Susanna Katrib - Rosebank College, Five Dock
Rachel Vosila - Santa Sabina College, Strathfield
Allister Haire - St Aloysius' College, Milsons Point
Joyce Zeitouni - St Charbel's College, Punchbowl
Charmaine Valenzuela - St Clare's College, Waverley
Benjamin Powell - St Ignatius' College Riverview
Monica Rose - St John Bosco College, Engadine
Dean Grimmond - St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
Marta Carvalho - St Maroun's College, Dulwich Hill
Jacob Ryan - St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney
Robert Johnson - St Patrick's College, Strathfield
Thu Nguyen - St Patrick's College, Sutherland
Emma Duggan - St Scholastica's College, Glebe
Christina Raiza Potestas - St Ursula's College, Kingsgrove
Laura Fitzgerald - St Vincent's College, Potts Point
Charbel Doumit - Trinity Catholic College, Auburn/Regents Park
Benjamin Forrest - Waverley College Our Lady's Mount

Media enquiries:
Bernadette Zebec, Catholic Education Office, Sydney. Tel: 95688223 / 0439601440