Good luck to all of our learners for their upcoming NCEA and Scholarship exams! You have worked hard throughout the year and we have been very proud of your preparation leading up to these exams. Remember to utilise your study leave well and follow your study timetable. Your teachers have put together a tutorial timetable—you can find this on our website and in Lancewood editions.

Some final reminders:

• Participation in your exams: turn up, try hard and you will reach your personal best
• Meet in the plaza on the day of your exam—arrive at 8:50am for morning exams, and 1:20pm for afternoon exams. All learners are to meet there (including learners with special assessment conditions). 
• Wear correct school uniform
• All pens, pencils etc in a clear plastic bag
• Drink bottles—these need to be clear (no labels)
• Mobile phones and watches are not permitted
• BRING YOUR EXAMINATION SLIP
• Further exam information can be found here.

Derived grades

Derived grades are evidence-based grades that NZQA may award to students when they can’t attend an examination or external assessment, or their performance is impaired (e.g., sickness, trauma) in the week/s leading up to, or during, an individual NCEA examination or the entire examination period.  A student may apply for a derived grade and still sit their examination/s.  As you will know, in such a situation, the school will provide ‘replacement’ grades derived from in-school assessment (usually the school derived grade examinations) for the standard/s affected. 

If a derived grade application is accepted by NZQA (the school does not approve these applications), the student will receive the better of their examination grades or school-based derived grades.  Note that if a student considers that they were impaired in an examination, suitable documentation must be provided rapidly after that exam.

NZQA is the sole judge of such applications which are made by the school in November/December on a student’s behalf.  They may choose to inform students by letter of their decision at the same time as results are received in mid-January.

Read the derived grade guidelines here.

Importance of exams

Learners at all year levels should be aiming for the best grades that they can get in the upcoming externals as there can be a lot riding on the examinations. Learners should also be very careful about deciding not to attempt standards or, even, not attend an examination. As part of that decision, they must be talking to their Ako/Advisory coach so that the possible consequences of such a decision are carefully considered.

Year 12 learners and their parents have previously been informed that their Level 2 results have a significance beyond just this year. As with every year, next year, year 13 learners will be applying for halls of residence and a range of tertiary scholarships. For all such applications, they will be required to include documentation that shows their last full set of results, those being their year 12/Level 2 results. As such, their applications will be judged against those results they gain this year—including their external results—perhaps it’s needless to say, but they really do have to keep their eye on what they are hoping to apply for in June/July/August next year.

For year 13 learners, there is the need to both gain university entrance and to reach those ‘thresholds’ that the various universities set as additional requirements. 

Our final word:

Learners: you have got this!!