Catholic schools shine in Auckland education analysis

To assess academic performance, Metro divided the total number of students achieving NCEA Level 3 in 2023 in each institution by the school’s total leavers participating in that subject.

The article noted that “while NCEA is still the primary school-leaving qualification in our country, enrolment in Cambridge and International Baccalaureate programmes is growing in Auckland. Schools that offer these qualification pathways may consequently have less impressive NCEA results than they might otherwise be capable of achieving”.

Nonetheless, Catholic schools featured prominently in the NCEA analysis by Metro. St Peter’s College in Epsom had the highest rank in English and communications skills with 83.9 per cent. The next best ratio was 61.2 per cent.

McAuley High School in Otahuhu ranked fifth across the region in engineering and manufacturing, while Marcellin College ranked seventh. McAuley High School also ranked second in languages.

Baradene College ranked third in sciences and was top in social sciences. The top eight rankings for social sciences were all filled by Catholic schools. Rosmini College was ranked third in technology and Sancta Maria College was ranked fourth in the arts.

Baradene was also the top school in the region in terms of school leavers gaining University Entrance, with 96 per cent.

Metro noted that a single definition for what constitutes a good school remains elusive.

“When students, and their parents, embark on the journey of secondary education, it’s typically a nuanced blend of these multifaceted considerations that guides their choice,” the article stated.

“While the full tapestry of what makes a school exceptional is rich and varied, the most objective and consistently measurable indicator of success lies in academic performance. It is with this understanding that we present here a comprehensive report detailing the NCEA results for Auckland high schools from the 2023 academic year . . . .

“In doing so, we acknowledge that this approach, while robust, captures only a segment of a school’s true value, leaving many equally vital, yet harder-to-quantify, aspects to broader consideration.”

After the Metro analysis was published, the Government announced a proposal to replace NCEA with new national qualifications.

FULL STORY

Metro Schools Analysis 2025 (Metro)

Replacing NCEA to transform secondary education (Beehive)