From the Rector

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As I write this, NCEA exams are underway, and Year 10 camps have departed. The end of the school year is nigh and with it another year where so many opportunities and events were scuppered by Covid.

Many of our young men in the senior school worked hard in preparation for the school exams at the end of Term III. Those exams took on even more importance than usual with the Covid spectre hanging over us and its potential to have an impact on the NCEA exams. Those who did not give their best may come to regret their indolence.

This malaise has been noted in recent years: young men are not motivated to work hard; they pick and choose where they put their focus and effort and seem unconcerned that they do not achieve to their potential in some areas. Some of the blame can be laid at the feet of the NCEA system, which certainly accommodates such an attitude; it is also a system that can grant an ‘Achieved’ with what in the old system would have been 33%. No wonder, then, that New Zealand continues to slide down the international rankings for academic progress in young people, despite having an oft-trumpeted ‘world-leading’ approach to teaching and assessment. There is surely some irony in a world-leading system that no-one else follows.

Our teachers have noted an increasing trend, amongst junior pupils predominantly, of an inability for some to sit at a desk, be quiet and get on with their work. Perhaps we are seeing the results of the Innovative (formerly known as Modern) Learning Environments, where there is a significant number of children in a large room where they can wander from group to group depending on where their educational whim takes them on any particular day, making sure they don’t stand on any of the bean bags on the way of course. Too many young men, when prompted to get on with their work, react as if they have every right to talk to their friend, or do anything other than take responsibility for doing as they are told. They make excuses and act like everything they’ve done is someone else’s fault.

For those who are unable to adhere to what are very clear, and very simple expectations, they do not have to stay at our school, and there have been some this year for whom that decision was made for them.

But, of course, the overwhelming majority have been outstanding. And it doesn’t matter the level of one’s achievement, it is the effort that a young man puts in. I often say to the boys, at least I did in the good old days when we could still have assemblies, that we are all good at different things and it is a positive attitude that counts. That can be hard to do when a young man is struggling in a particular subject and it feels like he is making no headway, so it is crucial that he is resilient and doesn’t give up.

Well done to all of our young men who faced the challenges 2021 threw at them in a positive and determined fashion, and who have emerged from the year with goals met, results achieved, and progress made. They will have earned their success and deserve it.

They also deserve a break, as do our staff, who we are again indebted to for all they have done throughout the year. So, do have an enjoyable break over the summer holidays have a happy festive season, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back at the start of the new year.

D M Bovey

Rector