KEY POINTS:
About 10,000 students ripped open their Cambridge International Examination results yesterday which presented their marks as a percentage, rather than the "excellence", "merit" or "achieved" grades awarded by NCEA.
Westlake Boys High School maintained its record of high results with scores as high as 99 per cent.
The Auckland state high school has offered the University of Cambridge International Examination (CIE) since 2004 and about 35 per cent of its senior boys participated this year.
With ACG Senior College, the school claims a number of "top in New Zealand" or "top in the world" results.
Westlake Boys' dux Arkesh Patel, 18, was ranked top in the world in two subjects in 2007 and in three in 2006.
His 2008 results averaged 96.75 per cent and with 99 per cent in mathematics he is expected to claim more top of the world and New Zealand titles when the national results are released.
Mr Patel also sat scholarship exams in six NCEA subjects and will receive those results in the next few weeks.
He said he opted for CIE rather than the regular NCEA programme because it "really challenged" him.
Another high-performing student, Alex Mackenzie, 18, who scored an average of 92.5 per cent over his A level subjects, said he chose to sit CIE because he found it more satisfying to see his results as a percentage.
Mr Mackenzie said NCEA seemed a way of making sure that everyone can pass.
Westlake Boys' principal Craig Monaghan said the school valued NCEA equally to Cambridge and it was up to the students to decide which qualification they sat.
Some of the top students sat NCEA and Mr Monaghan said the school was impressed with the results it received last week.
He expects Westlake Boys to be ranked as one of the top performers
in Cambridge when the national results analysis is released in two weeks.
He said the school's results already reflected a huge amount of effort from staff who held extra tutorials in lunch-breaks and after school as well as the students who voluntarily attended them.
"It means a lot to the individuals and it means a lot to the staff and to see their results come to fruition is just magic," he said.
New Zealand schools have offered the Cambridge examination since 2002 and more than 50 schools now participated.
Simon Higgins, regional manager of the Association of Cambridge Schools in New Zealand, said initially many schools wanted to offer it to their students in reaction to the controversy over NCEA.
Mr Higgins expects a steady growth in the number of schools offering Cambridge, but it will not take over the national qualification NCEA.
CAMBRIDGE ASSESSMENT
* Has been around for 150 years.
* More than 8 million candidates in more than 150 countries sit it each year.
* It was first offered to New Zealand schools in 2002.
* NCEA offers more subject choices and internal assessment throughout the year.
* CIE is largely examination based and suits students who revel in high stakes examinations.
