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A specialist adviser has been appointed to Selwyn College's board after Education Minister Chris Carter got a report from officials claiming too many students were failing - and the school didn't know how bad the problem was.
The Ministry of Education report to Mr Carter in November, released to the Herald under the Official Information Act, said the Kohimarama school's local community remained polarised and it had identified "several new concerns" at the decile 5 school.
It listed six areas of concern, including the low levels of student achievement, quality of professional leadership and the school's falling roll.
It said a ministry analysis showed National Certificate of Educational Achievement pass rates for senior school students were below the national and decile 5 averages.
Certain NCEA achievement rates also compared "unfavourably" with national averages for decile 4 schools, which the school will become from the start of this academic year.
It criticised the board's knowledge of the problem.
"Of concern is that the board seemed to be unaware of the extent of the underachievement when the ministry presented its analysis," the report read.
But board of trustees chairman Tur Borren said the comment was surprising as the board had run a public forum on student achievement last year and had commissioned an independent analysis.
"The board is very aware of the student achievement statistics and they have been the major focus of the new board, precisely to see if they can be enhanced," said Mr Borren.
He was hopeful nine months of work on improving students' academic performance would show when the latest national exam data was released this year.
The ministry report showed the board had asked for its specialist adviser - appointed by then Education Minister Steve Maharey in January last year - to be revoked.
But Mr Carter opted to keep an adviser, re-focused to address the new issues.
Past Carmel College head Collene Roche, former limited statutory manager at Green Bay High School, replaced Alan Burton in the role.
The report did not criticise Mr Burton's performance. It said some expected improvements had not been achieved - or were delayed - because the board had not always taken the specialist advice.
It acknowledged the board's commitment and hard work in trying to address issues it faced since being elected in April last year.
Selwyn College had a turbulent past, with both ardent supporters and a vocal lobby group of detractors pushing their case.
The multicultural roll, and an emphasis on the arts, is celebrated by supporters of the school.
But some in the community believe the liberal ethos is at the expense of the academic record, and the school has struggled to attract students from wealthier sections of its catchment area.
In 2005, local National MP Allan Peachey, a former Rangitoto College head, apologised after he sent the college's then co-principal Carol White an email saying that he had "a knife in your back, so be careful".
The specialist adviser appointed last year was ordered to help to run the school because of bitter in-fighting among the trustees.
A new board has since taken over, led by Mr Borren.
Mrs Roche's appointment would be reviewed in six months, the report said, or sooner.
James Hoskins, a member of the Vision Selwyn group of "concerned parents and their supporters", said he wanted a commissioner appointed to run the school.
The school's management is about to undergo several changes.
Deputy principal Bill Lake retired at the end of last year and principal Carol White, whose education work was acknowledged in last year's New Year Honours List, will retire from the end of the first term.
Sheryll Ofner, Howick College's second principal, is due to start as principal in April.
An Education Review Office report on Selwyn College publicly released this month said the NCEA achievement of students was below expectations for a decile 5 school. It said the school's quality assurance and self-review processes needed to be improved.
It found students were comfortable and at ease, the school provided them good personal and social growth opportunities and had a good pastoral care network.
"Relationships within the staff, between teachers and students, and among students themselves are positive and mutually respectful."
