“I couldn’t believe it; it is all very exciting,” Ms Quirk said.

Ms Quirk applied last year along with 20 other students from around the region.

Auscott “Midkin” farm manager Sean Boland congratulated Ms Quirk at a morning tea held at “Midkin” yesterday.

“We didn’t just choose Tamsin as the recipient of the scholarship based solely on her results,” Mr Boland said.

“She has also excelled in a number of different areas, in particular sport and community involvement,” he said.

Ms Quirk joins other Auscott Scholarship winners from the Namoi and Macquarie Valleys.

She plans on attending the University of New England to study a Bachelor of Agriculture.

“I’m really looking forward to heading over to Armidale,” Ms Quirk said.

The award follows an interview process which was undertaken in late 2011.

The interview panel, made up of Education Department and Auscott representatives, was impressed by the high standard of the applicants from the area.

“We had a lot of worthy applicants this year, as we do every year,” Mr Boland said. There are currently 10 students who are studying under the scholarship.

Since the commencement of the Moree award in 1980, 31 awards have been made to students from the Moree district.

Auscott’s investment in the scholarships is currently running at around $130,000 annually.

Each scholarship contributes towards living expenses, books and course fees up to $11,500 per year.

Ms Quirk plans on residing at St Alberts College.

“I have a few friends who are already living at Albies so I’m very excited,” she said.

She is planning on studying a Diploma of Education at the completion of her degree in Agriculture.