After dealing with Covid-19 for the past three years, Waimate High School has lifted its NCEA results.
Waimate High School principal Jo Hunnikin said these were the best results in well over five years for the school.
‘‘The kids wanted success, they wanted to pass and they wanted to do the work. We just got behind our kids.’’
Ms Hunnikin said she thought some of the pupils had lost confidence in themselves and with Covid-19 the senior experience had completely changed.
‘‘It affected the belief that they could do it.
‘‘We came to support them and say ‘you can do this, you have got this’.’’
The school’s level 1 NCEA results for 2022 had a pass rate of 84.5% which was a 31% improvement from 2021.
It is also about 20% above the national average for level 1. The good news didn’t stop there. The school’s level 2 results improved from 75% in 2021 to 83% last year and its level 3 results had a 72% pass rate last year which was a 40% increase from its 2021 results.
Ms Hunnikin said they were ‘‘super stoked and pleased’’ at the results.
‘‘We are really impressed they stepped up.
‘‘We helped set each student up with individual goals and a plan to push their capabilities but we cannot take credit for the hard work they put in.’’
She said one of the other things that was a contributing factor was the size of the school, which had only 280 pupils
‘‘I know them, I can have a yarn with them — it does have a family feel to it.
‘‘[Roll] size absolutely helps. You know the kids and you know when something is wrong. You know what they are capable of.’’
She said they changed one of the school values to ‘‘resilience’’ and said she thought some of the pupils now in year 12 would not have come back if they had not passed level 1.
‘‘Having the expectation that we wanted them to pass also helped and we want to continue to build on this in the future, help them realise their potential,’’ she said.
