ERO Report reflects dedication and passion
Two weeks ago we received our confirmed ERO Report. It was a fantastic treatise and a testament to the committed staff and the spectacular young men who are the fabric of our school.
ERO determined they were sufficiently satisfied with what they observed that with confidence they would not need to return to King’s for another four-five years. To give the significance of that judgment some context, of the 768 reviews that have been undertaken in secondary schools in New Zealand in the last five years, only 14% were placed on the four-five year cycle with the remaining 86% requiring another ERO Audit within three years or less. In Dunedin, of the 12 Secondary schools there are currently only four on a four-five year cycle with King’s the only State school with boys in attendance in this elite group.
To further accentuate the point, this is our second consecutive four-five year ERO review.
Academic Excellence
The school is making very good progress in ensuring equitable and excellent outcomes for all its students. There has been considerable improvement over time in NCEA achievement across all levels. The number of endorsements has increased and there has been a significant increase in the number and subject range of scholarships gained. Highly evident is a strong sense of pride in the pursuit of personal excellence.
ERO’s assessment of student achievement is borne out in our NCEA data. The results published at the start of this year saw us securing our best collective NCEA returns, highlighted by 105 Excellence Certificate Endorsements, 145 Merit Certificate Endorsements and 19 Scholarships. If we compare the number of Merit and Excellence endorsements to ten years ago they have increased by 470% while at the same time the school population has increased by 70%. It is an accurate reflection on the culture of academic excellence that now permeates our school. Importantly, the success is not restricted to just the academic elite. As ERO noted there are excellent outcomes for ALL our students. Our NCEA pass rates across Levels 1, 2 and 3 averaged comfortably in excess of 90% placing us 2nd amongst State Boys’ Schools nationwide. The data really does tell the story.
Student involvement in school life
The school is responsive to the passions, interests and needs of the students. The valued outcomes of personal excellence, character development and participation are incorporated, along with a wide array of leadership opportunities.
These statements certainly ring true in the curriculum and academic arena but they are also exemplified in student activity beyond the scope of the classroom. The range of opportunities that students are accessing outside of the curricula is quite remarkable. The successes they are accruing are equally as spectacular.
On the sportsfield we have continued to shine. Three gold and three bronze medals at the National Athletics Championships including a NZ record in the U16 4 x 100m relay, the Small Bore team finished 4th in NZ, the Touch team placed 5th in NZ, the 1st XI Hockey team gained its best ever result in the prestigious Rankin Cup, placing 6th in NZ while the 1st XI Football team had its best national finish since 1992, coming 15th in NZ. At the same time the 1st XI Cricket team qualified for the Gillette cup finals, ultimately meaning a top 6 finish in the country while the Junior 1st XI Cricket team finished 5th in NZ and the Junior 1st XI Football team lost their national final to place 2nd in NZ. On an individual level we celebrated 16 National representatives or national title holders.
In the cultural arena our young men continue to flourish, a New Zealand Secondary School Choir member, a 2nd place in the prestigious Nga Manu Korero Speech Competition (only the 2nd time in the competition’s history a South Island student has podiumed at this national event), He Waka Kotuia finished in 26th place at the National Kapa Haka Competition, including an impressive 13th place in its command of Te Reo. There was gold medal success at the Otago Rockquest competition and one of our young men was part of the band that won the “Country entertainer of the year award” at the 50 000 strong Tamworth Country Music Festival in Australia.
Simply outstanding achievements that reflect the opportunities that are extended to our young men and the reality that they are grasping them.
School Culture
Finally and perhaps the part of the ERO visit that yielded the greatest degree of personal satisfaction for me, was their commentary on the school culture.
A highly inclusive school culture promotes a sense of belonging and empowers individuals to have confidence in their own identity. The clearly articulated and lived values, including respect, can be seen through the strength of relationships at all levels of the school. The school has a pastoral care system which creates a circle of care that meets the needs of all students.
You know ERO did a great job here capturing the essence of our school. We do have a highly inclusive culture. Every student is a King’s Man and every student is valued equally. One of the Year 9 students ERO spoke to said it best when he was asked about his background and heritage, he replied, “It doesn’t matter Miss, I am a King’s Man and I am part of the King’s brotherhood. That is what really matters”.
The values we talk about are lived out by our young men not with piety and perfection but with consistency and conviction. I smiled through a conversation I had with an elderly lady who lives in the vicinity of King’s. She called to say how much she was impressed by our boys. Within three months she had been approached by three different boys asking if she needed assistance to cross the street. She was calling to express her gratitude but also to inform me that she had all her faculties intact and could I pass on to the boys that she was just fine and would request assistance if required.
There is a circle of care (that is the phrase that ERO coined) that pervades our school that is truly unique. During their visit the ERO team casually asked many students to describe their experience of the school and its climate. In these casual conversations the real heart of the school is revealed because the pretence and the caution that accompanies formal conversations tends to be thrust aside and the boys speak candidly. ERO were overwhelmed by the unparalleled proportion of students who used words like kind, caring and compassionate to describe the school they inhabit and experience. You can’t manufacture those responses. There is no metric that can adequately measure or place a value on boys feeling that way during these crucial teenage years.
To read the full report, there is a link below;
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