No one needs telling that for the last two years life has been disrupted.
Schools have suffered arguably more than their fair share - with closures, remote learning, mask requirements and plenty of other barriers to smooth operation.
Despite that, the NCEA achievement trends at Te Puke High School have continued in an upwards direction.
In the 2021 NCEA results, confirmed last month, Te Puke High School's Year 11 and 12 students sit above the national averages.
For Year 11, 80.4 per cent of students achieved level 1, compared to the national average of 70.1 per cent, and in Year 12, 84.3 per cent of students at the school achieved level 2. The national average is 79.3 per cent.
''We often find in the Year 13 there are different types of cohorts of students - there are those who are going into trades who might want level 2 papers, but as soon as they do any level 3 [papers] to top up the timetable, they are added into those stats when that isn't really their target.
''Traditionally [in Year 13] there are different kids with different directions so we are trying to cater for them all. We have a good range of students there who are doing very well.
''The trend year-on-year in all three levels since 2008 is upwards.
''The context of all this is a very disrupted year last year with Covid and lockdowns, swapping from in class to online and all those challenges."
Alan says the success comes down to several factors.
''One is our students and their dedication and getting in and doing what needs to be done despite all the adversities.
''The other ingredient is our staff and that's the key thing for me because the staff have worked really hard with the kids in all difficulties to try and help them so they can achieve.
''You'd expect because of what's happening it would have affected our results, but we're not seeing that and so there are things that have been done over the last year, two years that are making a difference.''
Te Puke High School.
One of those is the personalised attention teachers are giving the senior school students.
''[They are] making sure they understand what they are doing, so it's setting them up to do the best that they can do - and part of the time they have been doing that on a remote basis.''
The school community was preparing to function remotely when the first lockdown hit in 2020.
''I was telling teachers in the weeks before to get ready for it and they were getting geared up for online learning, but when the rubber hits the road, and it actually happens, you're on your own.''
He says the last two years have brought a lot of lessons.
''What it's teaching everyone is the need for resilience and so going through it, even at the minimum, they are learning how to cope in uncertain times.''
There has also been a strong focus on wellbeing.
''I remember coming back from [the first] lockdown, that was a key focus because if you haven't got that part right, then learning's not going to happen.''
He says there has been a conscious targeting of certain groups of students and that is bringing positive results.
''There have been initiatives based around that, particularly for our Māori students and so [good results] are starting to show [in the statistics]. That's coming through as a very strong trend.''
He says the school has a strong emphasis on its different cultures with the figures showing the different ethnic groups are realising their potential.
Term 1 of the 2022 year has seen a continuation of the disruptions.
''I hope we can continue [the trends], but we won't know what that looks like until further down the track.
"Teachers are working really hard, even though it's been incredibly disruptive. It's been a very untidy term.''
Alan says, in his view, the NCEA system is a good one.
''Some people put down NCEA, but from my perspective, it's a much more difficult qualification than in the old days when you just had to front up for an exam.
''You've got a mixture of internal and external assessments and you have got assessments happening on a regular basis through the school year, so performing to your best is actually required over a longer period of time and that gives a true indication of where a student's at.''
