Headmaster proposes University Entrance name change

In a recent newsletter for St Peter’s College in Auckland, headmaster James Bentley said that the college has a strong emphasis on academic achievement.

Mr Bentley noted that University Entrance (UE) is hard to get. Last year, only 49 per cent of students in year 13 throughout the country managed to achieve it.

“One of the things I would like to see (among many) change in education is the name of the qualification – to something like Higher School Certificate,” Mr Bentley said.

“Too many teens decide that university is not for them, and so have the misguided view that aspiring for UE is not something they need to do.

“What a shame this is, that just because you don’t wish to move into tertiary study, you forgo going for the top qualification you can get. A simple name change may lead to a shift in this attitude.”

Mr Bentley said that, in the current economy, many employers can pick and choose those they take on as employees.

“And this means one of the measures they always go to is qualifications,” he wrote.

“NCEA can be difficult to understand, and so employers tend to focus on the one metric they do understand, perhaps from when they were at school themselves, and that is UE.”

Mr Bentley said that having options and doors opening for students can only come about if they have the necessary qualifications.

“That piece of paper also shows employers many things other than your prowess in the classroom. It shows that you are reliable, organised and can cope with being challenged.”

The headmaster said St Peter’s College offers two distinct pathways: NCEA and Cambridge.

“This provides boys with a choice in a pathway that best suits them. As one of only a handful of schools that offer dual pathways, our results show that it works for the vast majority of our students.”

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St Peter’s College newsletter