Student Success at Havelock North High School
NCEA EXAMINATIONS
We maintain high standards and expect the vast majority of our pupils to enrol in academically challenging achievement standards courses, requiring them to sit external examinations. While other schools claim higher pass rates than ours, these are often achieved in a less demanding academic environment. Some schools use internal assessment and unit standards to make it easier for pupils to pass.
We are really proud of our efforts in expecting our pupils to meet the higher rather than the most basic expectations. Our pupils consistently outperform both national and Hawke’s Bay averages in the attainment of an endorsed certificate at all three levels of NCEA. Over half of those who achieve at Level 1 do so with academic honours. Pupils who achieve through unit standards are not entitled to merit or excellence endorsement. This is because achievement standards are usually at the old School Certificate level but level one unit standards are well below this level of difficulty – often a Year 10 standard. Universities no longer accept unit standards for University Entrance.
Impressive Scholarship Results in 2009
NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATIONS
Havelock North High School has been the top performing school, in Hawke’s Bay, since theexam’s inception in 2005.
Each year Havelock North High School pupils average around one third of all the scholarships earned by Hawke’s Bay schools.
We were very proud of our 2009 Scholarship Results. They speaks volumes about the quality of the dedicated staff working at our school and proves we have a learning and achievement culture in our school which is the envy of other local schools. Our students know we have high expectations of them and they work hard to fill those expectations.
Twenty-two scholarships were gained by eleven students. Three students gained four scholarships each and there were three outstanding scholarship passes. This means that the results these students achieved were in the top 0.5% in their subjects.
Only 3% of the thousands who sit scholarships actually gain scholarships, which puts Havelock North High School's achievement into perspective.
RESULTS 2009
Sarah Bailey: chemistry, physics, caluclus and accounting (outstanding); Ryan Baschnick: economics; Jessica Field: technology; Stacey Kennedy: English; Tihomir Mijatov: English, economics, history and classical studies (outstanding); Erin Moriarty: accounting, economics; Simon O'Donnell: history; Sanika Rangnekar: statistics; Luis Slyfield: English, physics, statistics, calculus; Alanna Soupen: English, biology; Stephanie Sullivan: technology (outstanding).
STUDENT RETENTION
The graph of student retention shows that we are successful in holding on to our pupils for five years. We attribute this to a positive school environment and our ability to convince most families that their children need to be at high school for five years. Our school leaver statistics show that 87% of those who left in 2009 after 5 years at Havelock North High School did so with Level 2 NCEA as their minimum qualification.
Achievers List
Havelock North High School has a proud tradition of outstanding achievement in academic, sporting and cultural pursuits. The Achievers List is compiled throughout the year. Students who feature on the list are recognised in school during either assemblies or prizegiving ceremonies.
