We are again very proud of the academic results achieved by our students in 2024. NZQA data shows that St Mary's College students consistently perform well above the national average for all New Zealand schools, including other girls' schools.
In 2024, our achievement rates for Level 1 was above 90% and Levels 2 and Level 3 were above 95%. At Level 2 and 3 over 75% of students achieved their respective qualifications with a Merit or Excellence Endorsement. Our Māori and Pasifika achievement is also very high.
The graphs below are generated by NZQA at the beginning of February and show St Mary's academic results (blue) compared with the national rates (red) and schools with a similar equity index rating (green). It can be interesting to see how results may be interpreted so we make sure we share our data directly from NZQA.
This is not just applicable to 2024, this level of academic achievement is consistent as is illustrated in the graphs. You will see that a consistent level of achievement has been maintained across the COVID period.
Another interesting statistic is the continued success of St Mary's College students in Religious Studies Scholarship. 2020 was the first year that Religious Studies was offered as a Scholarship subject. Scholarship is a separate examination to stretch and challenge students. There were 67 Religious Studies Scholarships awarded throughout New Zealand, six of these went to students from St Mary's College. What is also impressive is that 67% of students at St Mary's who attempted this examination, were successful. We have continued to experience success in Scholarship since 2020, including an Outstanding Scholarship (top 1% of New Zealand) in 2021. In 2023 and 2024, 6% of the Scholarships awarded in New Zealand went to St Mary's College students.
We are well placed to make the change to the new NCEA standards, as can be seen in the Level 1 achievement. All Year 10 students had the opportunity to sit the Literacy and Numeracy Co-Requisite requirements. Again, our levels of achievement are over 80% for each paper.
These outstanding academic results reflect the high standards of our students and staff. Teachers and Deans know each student, their story and work with them to achieve their goals. Achieving is part of the St Mary's culture. Students are guided and supported to achieve to their potential. Our smaller class numbers are an advantage to both students and staff who enjoy close working relationships with their students. St Mary's College teachers are specialists in their fields, and students are taught by these specialists right from Year 7, which does make a difference.
In 2024 21 NZQA Scholarships were achieved in Religious Education, English, Music, Biology, Economics, Health and Physical Education and Spanish. One student achieved three Scholarships, which makes her an Outstanding Scholar. Of note is the number of our Year 11 and 12 students who are achieving Scholarship. In 2024 nine Scholarships were achieved by six Year 12 and oone Year 11 student.
Achieving is not just about success at the Scholarship level, it is about students stretching and challenging themselves to achieve to their full potential or demonstrating our 2024 Mercy Value Panekiretanga/Excellence. Some of the best anecdotes that we have heard are about students who worked really hard to achieve their NCEA certificates and were so pleased when they did. Each person is on their own path, which is something that we respect here at St Mary's College.
St Mary's College is about excellence in more than academic results. Our aim is for students to leave the College as 21st Century Women of Mercy. This can be seen in contributions made back to the community, service, leadership and participation in a wide variety of activities. At the end of 2024 this was recognised by over $400,000 worth of Tertiary and other Scholarships being offered to our senior students.
Scholarships Awarded included those from:
- Robert Ned Covich Scholarship
- First Foundation
- Auckland University
- Auckland University of Technology
- Massey University
- Otago University
- University of Canterbury
- University of Waikato
- Victoria University Wellington
Congratulations to all students and staff on the 2024 results. We are looking forward to seeing what students achieve in 2025!