Dedication and passion has paid off for the St Mary's Diocesan School Kapa Haka Roopu which has been named the overall winner of the Taranaki Puanga Festival Under-21 category.
The group of girls sang and danced their way to victory during the event - winning all seven categories they entered.
Winning the poi aggregate category was especially significant for the group as student Sapphire Kahu wrote all of the music, lyrics and actions for the song. Sapphire says when writing the song, she wanted to portray a typical St Marys girl of Mana Wahine and Mana Wairua - a prestigious girl who is a descendant of God.
"It's about a girl who sings like the birds and moves like the waves. We are all beautiful women."
The Taranaki Puanga Festival attracted hundreds of primary and secondary school children from all over the region last week - showcasing a range of kapa haka styles.
St Mary's students also took out the top three spots of the Opaki U-21 Manu Korero (speech) competition with Sapphire Kahu placed first, Mirei Kondo second and Alexandra Howard third.
These girls were presented with a taonga each for their efforts and the Roopu were presented with certificates and a trophy during a chapel assembly at the school last week.
The girls have been under the guidance of tutors Whaea Wharekuka and Whaea Shauna who says she cried watching them make a clean sweep of the awards.
Principal Fiona Green says the girls worked hard for the awards, giving up their own time to practise at 8am every Thursday morning. Fiona says kapa haka is a cultural component of the school which is going from strength to strength.
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"It's open to any students who want to explore our bi-cultural heritage."
She is hugely proud of the girls and says it is incredible for such a little school to have such a cultural gem.
St Mary's Diocesan School Kapa Haka Roopu leaders Alexandra Howard and Bianca Stewart said the girls were on a high after the festival.
Bianca says they had to perform under a few trying circumstances as she had been ill in hospital the night before and Alex had limited use of her hand after hurting it. However, they pulled together after making a few last minute changes.
"Once we got on stage, everybody was feeling the thrill and we performed our hearts out."
Bianca says the St Mary's group was the only all female kapa haka group entered and it was a bit of a thrill beating the boys' groups in the kapa haka category.
"It was just an incredible feeling. All of the girls just did so well and pulled together."
Bianca says she has participated in kapa haka groups for the past eight years and enjoyed the culture and community that surrounds it.
Alex likes the fact the anybody could join the kapa haka group regardless of musical ability and cultural background.
International student Mirei Kondo, from Japan, is part of the group and was proud to be placed second in the Manu Korero competition.
Her speech was about how much she likes New Zealand kai.
"I am from Japan and Maori culture is my second culture and this is my second home."
It was the second year in a row she has came second in the speech competition. "It was hard but the pronunciation is really similar to Japanese."
She also sung a solo during one of the kapa haka group's performances. "It was a great experience, I really enjoyed it."
The St Mary's Diocesan School Kapa Haka Roopu got first in the following categories: Poi aggregate, Waiata A Ringa aggregate, Waiata Tira aggregate, Kaitataki Wahine non-aggregate, Kakahu non-aggregate, Haka aggregate, Karanga non-aggregate and the Poi aggregate.