| ACADEMIC INFORMATION
SENIOR SCHOOL
Academic achievement and student success is the prime focus of our school. Pukekohe High School is committed to the full implementation of National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). This qualification provides students with valid information about their achievement and will enable students to have access to universities around the world.
Tracking NCEA Achievement from 2008 to 2010
NCEA Level 1: Students in Year 11 study towards gaining their NCEA Level 1 qualification.
Percentage of Year 11 students achieving NCEA Level 1:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 67 70
2009 70 70
2010 69 86
Students who gain 50 or more credits at merit or excellence level receive their NCEA with a merit or excellence endorsement.
Percentage of students achieving their NCEA Level 1 with merit or excellence endorsement, placing them in the top 9% of the country:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 23 21
2009 42 35
2010 37 27
NCEA Level 2: Most students in Year 12 study towards gaining their NCEA Level 2 qualification.
Percentage of Year 12 students achieving NCEA Level 2:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 65 75
2009 68 75
2010 80 73
Percentage of students achieving their NCEA Level 2 with merit or excellence endorsement, placing them in the top 6% of the country:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 15 16
2009 21 25
2010 32 25
NCEA Level 3: Most students in Year 13 study towards gaining their NCEA Level 3 qualification and to achieve university entrance.
Percentage of Year 13 students achieving NCEA Level 3:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 68 70
2009 66 69
2010 68 64
Percentage of students achieving their NCEA Level 3 with merit or excellence endorsement, placing them in the top 5% of the country:
Pukekohe High School NZ
2008 16 14
2009 34 26
2010 21 20
SCHOLARSHIPS
Four scholarships were awarded in 2010. One of these was an “outstanding scholarship” which is deemed by markers to meet the top performance description and places the student in the top one percent in the country.
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Junior Diploma
The purpose of the Junior Diploma is to motivate students, acknowledge the good work that they do, help students understand the expectations that teachers have of them in class and help students develop positive study and personal habits that they can use for the rest of their life. The diploma is intended to motivate students over the course of a whole year.
Near the end of each term teachers will record data for each Year 9 and Year 10 student under headings of personal progress, honest effort, conduct, work presentation and punctuality. At the end of each semester Vertical Form Teachers also record data on school participation, uniform, demeanour and attendance. Finally, the exams contribute credits summarising the year’s work.
At the end of the year students are able (delete) are awarded a certificate if they have achieved their Junior Diploma. There are three levels of achievement:
Gold (80%) Silver (70%) Bronze (60%)
A message from Matthew Pulman and Sheena Raj, the Academic Prefects:
“The main aim of the academic council this year is to continue to promote the idea that there are many different types of intelligence. Talent is found in many areas within our school in a variety of different domains. The types of intelligence that we as a council have identified are social, sporting, artistic and logical intelligences. Any person that shows skills in any of these areas is ‘smart’ and shows an understanding of how to reach their goals through hard work and the will to succeed. As a council we firmly believe that everybody has a place, everybody is smart and everybody has the potential to achieve highly.”
SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Pukekohe High School has a "broad and balanced" education offering a wide range of subjects and learning opportunities to all students and a high level of importance is placed on the use of information technology. Levels of achievement in national examinations are consistently above national averages. Our students enjoy success in the world beyond school and achieve well at tertiary study.
Te Kotahitanga
Pukekohe High School is a Te Kotahitanga school. Te Kotahitanga means working together as one and is a professional development programme for our teachers; the goal is raising our Māori students’ achievement. The good news is it benefits all our students. As the name suggests it is teachers working with teachers to share good practice, reflect and problem solve together. Relationships underpin all aspects teaching. Being a part of the programme is a reflection of our school’s commitment to ensure that Maori students experience the same success as all other students in the school and have the opportunity to achieve excellence.
Special Learning Needs
We provide extension and remedial programmes for students at all levels. The Gate (Gifted and Talented Education) Programme ensures that students are extended in subjects in which they are talented. Students have the opportunity to study subjects above their age level. For example, a very able Year 10 Social Science student may do Year 11 History. Literacy and numeracy are also areas of focus in all curriculum areas.
Special courses are offered to students with particular learning needs. These include:
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)
Gateway Year 11, 12 and 13
In-class remedial learning support at Year 9 and 10
Learning Support
Junior School
It is compulsory for all junior students to study English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Physical Education. These are full year courses.
Year 9 students also study Technology for the entire year. In addition, Art, Music, Information Management and Languages are studied for six months. Students choose one of Maori, French or Japanese for their language option.
Year 10 students choose two subjects from Art; Languages - (French, Maori or Japanese); Drama; Music; Enterprise Studies; Rural Studies; Graphics; Technology - fabric, food, wood, metal; Information Management; Year 10 Band Class.
Senior School
In Years 11, 12 and 13 the "broad and balanced" education continues with increasing opportunities for students to make informed personal choices from a wide range of subjects.
Year 11 students study six subjects which must include English or Te Reo Maori; Mathematics and Statistics and Science. Students choose three optional subjects.
Year 12 students must study English or Te Reo Maori, plus five optional subjects.
Year 13 students must choose a minimum of five subjects. There are no compulsory subjects.
Career Education
A major focus in goal setting at school is based around students’ future career aspirations. Our specialised careers teacher runs a programme for all students, giving them the opportunity to explore options for their future careers. Students in years 9 to 11 have assigned career lessons. One-on-one career support is given to students who may need it.
Teacher Professional Learning
The school’s commitment to the ongoing professional development of its teachers ensures that teachers in our school are at the forefront of developments in education. On Wednesdays students end their school day at 1.50pm to allow teachers to engage in their own learning. As a result, our students benefit through the innovative lessons developed by teachers who are up to date with national and international trends in education.
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
We believe in celebrating achievement at our school. The major celebration of the success of our students takes place at the annual Senior and Junior Prize Giving Ceremonies. A Maori Celebration Evening is held annually at Ngā Hau e Wha Marae and is a wonderful occasion celebrating the many achievements of our Māori tamariki. At the end of the year there is also a Sports Dinner and an Arts Celebration Evening. We celebrate success throughout the year in school and house assemblies. Sound progress and positive attitudes to learning are acknowledged by a letter being sent home to families and whanau. A Scholars’ Dinner is held in the first term of the year to honour students who have received scholarship awards as well as students who achieved excellence endorsements in their National Certificate of Achievement.
EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Engaging students in real world contexts of learning is an important part of curriculum delivery at Pukekohe High School. Students participate in a range of field trips, activities and camps outside the classroom to enrich learning for everyone. All Year Ten students are encouraged to attend camps or day activities during Activities Week at the end of the year. Students spend five days at various venues establishing relationships and confidence through physical, artistic or cultural challenges. Year 13 students are invited to go on a leadership camp to develop teamwork and leadership skills. Their bonds with deans and the student support team are strengthened as they develop the skills to be Peer Support Leaders who help Year 9 students to transition at the start of the year.
Students in all year levels enjoy the opportunity to extend themselves in their subject areas through a range of competitions and events including:
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The College Herald – students regularly enter this competition to have their outstanding work published. In 2011 a Year 11 student was featured in the first publication of the year's College Herald. She won the Editor's Choice for her writing, as well as having her article on the front page of the College Herald.
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Vietnam Tour - A group from Pukekohe High School toured Vietnam on a 16 day senior history and social studies curriculum experience. Sites visited were associated with the Indochina War of Independence and the Vietnam or American War, which linked closely with NCEA Level 2 History's 'Vietnamese Independence' topic. Students also interacted with Vietnamese students at a high school. Some of the youngsters at the orphanage were consequential victims of Agent Orange defoliant spraying during the Vietnam or American War.
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Monetary Policy Challenge – A team of senior Economics students obtained a perfect score in their submission for this competition which is run by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. They researched current New Zealand and world economic conditions and made a recommendation to the Reserve Bank regarding changes to the Official Cash Rate.
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Liggins Institute in Auckland - Year 13 Biology students had the opportunity to learn a great deal more about the field of genetics with a hands on visit to the Liggins Institute in Auckland.
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Young New Zealanders’ Challenge - Pukekohe High School has a proud history of success and every year students achieve bronze silver and gold awards for the challenges which they have met.
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Spirit of Adventure - Each year a number of students at different year levels spend a week on the Spirit of Adventure where they have face physical challenges which help develop self-confidence and leadership skills.
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MUNA - History students are given the opportunity to meet others schools and have a practical understanding of how the United Nations would address issues. Students are given a country and they have to talk to remits given out.
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Market Day - All Year 10 students in Social Sciences participate in a competitive programme where they develop their own business plan. A number of groups are selected, on the basis of their marketing and business plans, to participate in a Market Day where they sell their products to the school community.
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Analytical Chemistry Competition (Waikato University) - Pukekohe High school has been one of the competing schools for the last three years. In 2009 we were placed second overall, in 2010 we were the overall winners and in 2011 we were placed second.
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Girls into Science and Engineering - Every year we take ten Year 10 girls to a Science and Maths open day at Auckland University and three Year 13 girls for an Engineering open day at the University. The purpose of these visits is to provide an opportunity for the girls to see what careers are available to them in the science field.
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Junior and Senior Speech Competitions - The top speech makers in English classes participate in the speech competitions.
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Debating - Senior and junior teams participate in the Auckland Debating Competition. Students have achieved a number of successes and are continuing to develop their skills.
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The University of New South Wales Competitions - Pukekohe High School is proud of the success our students achieve in these competitions. In 2010 a high distinction was achieved by one student while six students achieved distinction awards.
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Young Enterprise Studies - Year 13 Management students participate in the Young Enterprise Studies competition and every year we celebrate their successes of our students at national and regional level. In 2010 one of our students won the prestigious title of Young Enterprise Scholar of the Year, beating 1400 students who participated in the exam. At the Counties Manukau Young Enterprise Sudies Awards our school won the following prizes: Commitment Award, Communication Award and the YES teacher of the Year Award.
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Science and Technology Awards - All Science students are encouraged to participate in the Science Fair and our school hosted the exhibition this year. For the past three years our students have excelled in this competition. In 2011 prizes were won in the following categories: Poster, Investigation, Living World Investigation and Best Physical Science Entry. In the 2010 Franklin Competition one of our students won both the awards for Overall Winner and the Senior Science category. In the Manukau Science Fair five of our students received awards.
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Leadership Week – During this week a full-day leadership seminar was held in which sixty students across all year levels participated in debates and discussion about leadership as students.
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Head Students’ Forum - Pukekohe High School head students host a leadership day which is attended by the head students from schools in our area. They discuss leadership within the various school and share ideas.
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RYDA Young Driver Safety Programme - The RYDA Programme focuses on attitude and awareness with the aim of helping young adults become safer on the road. The programme highlights the privilege and responsibilities of owning and driving a motor vehicle and also illustrates their rights and responsibilities as passengers and pedestrians. All Year 11 students attend the programme.
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Gateway – Students in this programme work in local businesses to gain workplace experience and to earn credits towards NCEA.
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