Self-belief amongst staff and students has been the key to Western Bay of Plenty schools continuing to surpass national averages in NCEA certificate levels, according to a local principal.
New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) results show six Western Bay schools sat above the national averages in all three NCEA certificate levels following the 2014 exams.
Mount Maunganui College. Photo: Bruce Barnard.
Bethlehem College, Katikati College, Mount Maunganui College, Te Puke High School, Aquinas College and Te Wharekura O Mauao all scored higher than average achievement rates.
The national average in Level 1 was 84 per cent, Level 2 was 88 per cent, and Level 3 was at 80 per cent.
For Mount Maunganui College, it marks their forth consecutive year above the national average - something principal Russell Gordon puts down to the self-belief that is 'inherent” in both students and teachers.
And he recognises the countless hours of work everyone puts in to keep the stellar results coming - a trait that is beginning to pay off.
The school's NCEA Level 1 rates were slightly lower than last year's, and Level 2 and Level 3 rates slightly higher.
'If it was the first time then it would be something you celebrate,” says Russell, 'but when it's a pattern that has been established it's now what we expect to be our norm.
'For me, the system is key and the self-belief of our students.
'I guess each year level sets the bar for the year level that's to follow and we are now in the fortunate stage where our students can motivate their peers in order to at least meet if not better their results.”
Russell says the decile six school has comprehensive systems in place to ensure there is continued growth right across the school - something he is confident can be achieved.
'We ensure we have a careful tracking system in place so we know what students are doing and whether they're in danger of achieving or not,” he adds.
'And then we can put in place interventions throughout the year.”
Western Bay schools above the national average:
| NCEA Level 1 | NCEA Level 2 | NCEA Level 3 | |
| Bethlehem College | 96% | 92% | 93% |
| Katikati College | 78% | 89% | 87% |
| Mount Maunganui College | 88% | 95% | 89% |
| Te Puke High School | 84% | 94% | 82% |
| Aquinas College | 97% | 96% | 89% |
| Te Wharekura O Mauao | 91% | 100% | 91% |
2 comments
.
Posted on 09-04-2015 07:48 | By NZgirl
It will be interesting to see how Papamoa College will do compared to the other schools
Lies and Statistics?
Posted on 09-04-2015 19:54 | By laugeo
People need to be aware that not all school results are compiled either equally or in the same way. I have no wish to detract from true school successes but the simple fact is that some schools choose to 'not submit' some students for certain standards if they fear that student will not be successful - meaning that the school can report a higher percentage of success based on the number of students 'submitted' but not on the number of students attending. Then of course, their results are unfairly compared against another school who submit all of their students and honestly report on the true percentage of student passes. Someone once quoted that there are three types of lies - there are lies, damned lies and statistics and until all school's report there statistics to include all students, comparisons are meaningless.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.