Dear Parents

As this is being written, the NCEA examinations are in full swing for our senior pupils and for a number of Year 10 pupils as well. This period will, for many, define whether or not the year has been a successful academic one.

Many of our young men will have prepared thoroughly for these examinations. Some not. I have spoken oft of late about motivation and the lack thereof for some of our young men, and it is in these examinations that the chickens will come home to roost. Some will fail. They will fail because they have been lazy and unmotivated. It’s as simple as that, and while apologists and blame-everything-else-ists might blench at the apparent bluntness of that statement, it is true.

We want our young men to succeed, to reach their academic potential. As we know, some are academically strong, some are not. That matters little as long as there is a positive attitude and a good work ethic. The wonderfully named Zig Ziglar once said, a little cheesily it must be said, “Attitude not aptitude determines your altitude.” Your effort and application will be instrumental in determining your success, both now and in the future.

At the recent senior prizegiving we were able to recognise those who had achieved at a high level and those who worked hard throughout the year. The young men who crossed the stage should be proud of their efforts in 2022. When, in recent years, some schools scrapped their prizegiving because they felt those who did not receive awards would be upset to have missed out, I found myself wondering what colour the sky was in their world.

People miss out. That’s life. I don’t recall demands for the abolition of the Olympic Games because only one gold medal is awarded. A World Cup final has a winner and a loser (even if it has to go to a Super Over, and then a boundary countback – I still haven’t gotten over that). The Black Ferns, huge underdogs going into the women’s World Cup, earned and deserved their victory. England, unbeaten for thirty matches and overwhelming favourites, might well have won had they not been down to 14 players for most of the game, but it didn’t work out that way. Still, their determination meant they came so close.

What a fantastic occasion that was. To see a capacity crowd at Eden Park for a women’s rugby game was incredible – something that a few short years ago would have been unthinkable. The positive approach, the sheer enjoyment on the faces of the players, and the hard work put in during the lead-up to the tournament paid off. They earned their win, and it was brilliant.

Good luck to all our young men for the remainder of the NCEA examinations – may they get out of them what they put in.

Staffing 2023

Appointments for 2023 have been made in the Commerce, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Sciences departments.

Enrolments 2023

We have had to implement the enrolment scheme and a waiting list for pupils out of zone has been created. As previously mentioned, we are looking to reducing the school roll and as such we have limited the 2023 Year 9 intake to around the 380 mark.

D M Bovey

Rector