Whanganui schools stick with NCEA Level 1 amid nationwide education shift

Most schools in Whanganui are opting to stick with NCEA Level 1 this year. Photo / Unsplash

• All but one Whanganui secondary school will offer NCEA Level 1 despite nationwide changes.
• Whanganui Collegiate School switched to IGCSE Cambridge, citing increased student engagement and teacher satisfaction.
• The Education Review Office called for substantial reform of NCEA Level 1, with less than 75% of schools planning to offer it in 2025.

All but one Whanganui secondary school will offer NCEA Level 1 this year despite a growing move nationwide away from the qualification.

The Education Review Office (ERO) last year called for the reform of NCEA Level 1, saying it was “not a fair or reliable” measure of knowledge and skills and, while it was manageable for students, it did not always motivate them to achieve or continue studying.

It came after significant changes to the main qualification for high school students were rolled out at the start of 2024 and Education Minister Erica Stanford in April requested the ERO review the revised NCEA Level 1 and document its findings.

In a report released in November, the ERO said the qualification “needs substantial reform” and less than 75% of schools plan to offer it in 2025. Eighty-seven per cent of schools offered NCEA Level 1 in 2024.

Whanganui High School, Cullinane College, Whanganui City College, Whanganui Girls' College and Te Kura o Kokohuia will continue to offer NCEA Level 1 this year.

However, City College principal Peter Kaua said the system was frustrating.

“They’re sort of building a plane whilst it’s still in the air, so unfortunately we’re going to have to stick with the beast, but we have no intention of [offering] Cambridge,” Kaua said.

He said if there was a revamp of the system, a trial run would be required.

“It needs trialling and not to be done immediately.

“It’s a frustration for both students and teachers but it’s something that we have to work on together to solve the problem and keep our parents involved.”

Whanganui Collegiate School does not offer NCEA Level 1.

It shifted to IGCSE Cambridge in August 2023 and senior master of teaching and learning Tash Bullock said it had exceeded expectations.

“We’ve just been amazed at our Year 11 students and how they’ve taken that challenge on,” Bullock said.

“They’ve learned alongside our staff and supported each other throughout the last year.”

Collegiate changed to Cambridge after finding students tended to be less engaged as well as having to withstand frustrated teachers, she said.

“We’ve seen the complete opposite [in 2024]. They’ve been fully engaged, they’ve quickly realised the importance of being in class and are communicating well with their teachers.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the maturity and their approach to learning, which we wouldn’t have seen if we were doing NCEA.”

Ministry of Education qualifications and pathways general manager Rob Mill said offering the NCEA qualification was optional and had been since it was introduced in 2002.

“The ministry is aware of a number of schools deciding to reduce or cease participation in NCEA Level 1,” Mill said.

“However, schools are not required to tell us if they are opting out of it.”

Latest figures for the Manawatū-Whanganui region showed 73.4% of students stayed at school until they were 17. A decade ago it was 83.4%.

School leavers in the region who gained NCEA Level 1 or above was at 81.6%, down from 91.1% in 2017.

The majority of Year 11 students will begin the school year in late January to early February.