Rotorua principals pleased with NCEA achievement results

National NCEA school data has been released by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority - and Rotorua schools are thrilled with the outcome. Photo/File

Rotorua schools are thrilled with their NCEA results, with one principal whose school has topped the country for their decile saying the results prove you don't need to go to big cities to get top marks.

The national NCEA school data has been released by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

National average pass rates rose slightly, reaching 86.5 per cent of Year 11 students gaining Level 1, 89.9 per cent of Year 12 students gaining Level 2 and 83.4 per cent of Year 13 students passing Level 3.

John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh said it was pleasing to see John Paul College was the top-performing decile 7 school in the country.

It was also pleasing the school consistently achieved results consistent with the top performing schools in Auckland and Wellington, he said.

Mr Walsh said some people often thought the education in Rotorua was not up to the same standard as schools in Auckland and Wellington, but their results showed they were equal to many top-performing schools in those major centres.

"The staff at John Paul College really go the extra mile for students and I think also we have very supportive parents who value education."

He said both himself and the Board of Trustees were delighted to receive recognition for the outstanding academic results at John Paul College.

Rotorua Girls' High School principal Ally Gibbons said they were thrilled with their results.

"It's exciting for our school and our girls."

She said they had high expectations for their girls, 78 per cent of whom were Maori, and she could not thank enough her hard-working staff who really knew their learners.

There were deliberate activities and strategies they identified each year which were needed to maintain their achievement rate for their learners across all the NCEA levels, she said.

Rotorua Boys' High School principal Chris Grinter said they were very pleased with their results, especially given they were the only boys' school on the list and 75 per cent Maori as well.

He said their results had been tracking well for a number of years and this was their best at Level 2.

"At Level 3 the displayed figure reflects our Auckland campus where there are over 100 international students who start their NCEA Level 3 programme mid-year and finish mid-year next year, these students lower our school-based student pass rate at Level 3, which is at 95 per cent.

"So, the published figure does not just reflect our Raukura students.

"But overall, very pleasing results that reflect the value our boys and our teachers place on high academic achievement."

Percentage of participating students who achieved this qualification by the end of the academic year of interest:
John Paul College:
• Level 1, 99.5
• Level 2, 99.4
• Level 3, 97.4
Reporoa College:
• Level 1, 80
• Level 2, 91.7
• Level 3, 81.8
Rotorua Boys' High School:
• Level 1, 89.4
• Level 2, 96.3
• Level 3, 78.7
Rotorua Girls' High School:
• Level 1, 91.5
• Level 2, 96.5
• Level 3, 93.8
Rotorua Lakes High School:
• Level 1, 94.6
• Level 2, 97.5
• Level 3, 85.7
Western Heights High School:
• Level 1, 92.8
• Level 2, 91
• Level 3, 83.7
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Te Koutu:
• Level 1, 60
• Level 2, 80
• Level 3, 100
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Ruamata:
• Level 1, 52
• Level 2, 75
• Level 3, 85.7