The recent Education Review Office visit of Waiheke High School has confirmed that the school “is performing well and has capability for ongoing improvement.”
Success in NCEA examinations of Waiheke High School students, which in the last few years has seen best ever pass rates at Level One, Two and Three and importantly a significant increase in the number of Merit and Excellence endorsed certificates was acknowledged. The focus of the school on continuing to improve these results and provide the best possible education for the children on the Island was acknowledged ‘ Achievement in the senior school is trending up.’
More and more students are staying on at Waiheke High School. Indeed the percentage of school Leavers with Year 13 qualifications has exceeded the average for Decile 6 schools since 2008. For Maori students at the high school in four of the last five years Maori achievement in this area has exceeded, and in 2010 significantly exceeded the national averages. Increased student retention and achievement was attributed by the Education review Office to “A wider selection of academic and vocational courses has enhanced the curriculum for senior students. Hospitality and viticulture courses for example, reflect student interests and draw on community expertise. The senior curriculum is impacting positively on increasing student engagement and retention.”
Excellent classroom teaching is a focus for Waiheke High School and ERO commented “Students benefit from teachers’ enthusiasm and knowledge of their subject areas.’’ Furthermore: “Students in Years 7 and 8 enjoy specialist teaching in areas such as mathematics, arts, languages, science and technology. These programmes add rich contexts and challenge to learning programmes.”
There was a focus on national standards and the work done by teachers and the extra support available for students was commented upon: ‘Teachers have had good support to work with the National Standards. They use a variety of assessment and observation strategies to form judgements about student achievement in relation to National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at Year 7 and 8. Teachers’ overall judgements in relation to the National Standards are moderated and are reported clearly to parents.’ This has resulted in by the end of Year 8 the majority of students are at or above the national expectations. Waiheke High School will continue to focus on improving the literacy and numeracy skills of the students to best prepare them for the challenges of NCEA.
ERO was complimentary of the success of M?ori students at Waiheke High School: “M?ori student achievement in NCEA is steadily improving, and attendance and classroom engagement data shows similar trends. The percentage of M?ori students achieving University Entrance has increased.” The review also was impressed by the whole school celebrations of Matariki.
The increase in opportunities available for Waiheke High School students was remarked on favourably: “ Students are also benefitting from more opportunities to take part in sport, culture and performance.’’
Principal Neil Watson comments that the report was a positive report and Waiheke High School will continue to work hard to improve on areas identified by ERO and its own self review to provide the best possible education for the Island community.
The full report can be found at: http://www.ero.govt.nz/Early-Childhood-School-Reports/School-Reports/Waiheke-High-School-07-11-2011
