Categories: NewsEducation

School’s academic turnaround wins Ministry praise

<h3>South Auckland’s Wesley College&comma; previously under MOE scrutiny for poor academic performance&comma; has been praised by the education minister for its much improved NCEA results&period;<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Wesley College in Paerata&comma; near Pukekohe&comma; has reported impressive improvements in NCEA pass rates for the past two years under new principal Steve Hargreaves&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Education minister Hekia Parata cited significant improvements in levels one&comma; two and three  – especially among Maori and Pasifika students&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 2015&comma; the school&&num;8217&semi;s level one pass rate rose by 13 points&comma; level two by nine per cent&comma; and UE up by three per cent&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Congratulations on your students&&num;8217&semi; success&period; Their success is a demonstration of the strength of the school&&num;8217&semi;s community&comma; and the quality of the work done by your Board of Trustees&comma; school leadership&comma; teaching and support staff&comma; students and their families and whanau&comma;&&num;8221&semi; she wrote&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ms Parata said that achieving NCEA qualifications&comma; particularly level two &comma; opened up a wide range of <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;2015&sol;10&sol;developing-opportunities-at-school-with-a-view&sol;" title&equals;"opportunities" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">opportunities<&sol;a> for students through further study or employment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Wesley College was established in 1844 and is the oldest secondary school in New Zealand&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It is perhaps best known for its sporting achievements with a number of students going on to achieve international sports fame&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 1976&comma; it became the first private school to integrate into the state system and today operates like any other state school&comma; but under the government of a board of trustees&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Wesley College is a designated special character school based on its relationship with the Methodist faith&comma; and has day and boarding facilities for both boys and girls&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Principal Steve Hargreaves welcomed the school being recognised for its academic achievements and not just its All Blacks&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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