Year 13 Pakuranga College student Marama Downes is a high achiever.
She plays basketball and Tag for the school’s teams, captains the Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club Premier side, and has represented New Zealand in 2019 at Under-22 Girls’ Indoor Cricket Trans-Tasman International Series, as well as provincially for Northern Districts.
It’s not just in athletic pursuits where she excels.
In 2019 she was awarded The Nga Kete O Te Matauranga Leadership award for Senior Female Maori Student at the college. Downes is from Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi.
She has padded up for the Auckland Hearts under 18 side in the outdoor game and recently she wore the blackcap of the NZ Maori Schoolgirls XI who played against the Governor General’s XI in Wellington.
“Indoor is definitely my favourite,” says Downes, but she is also enjoying the challenge of captaining a “very young developing team” at Howick Pakuranga.
