Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It seems like almost yesterday we were welcoming the new Form 3 cohort into Auckland Grammar School and announcing the 2024 Prefect, yet here we are, already the end of Term 1. Before we know it, it will be the end of the year, so it is a great opportunity to take a step back and reflect upon the term it has been.

There has been a lot of success and excellence in and out of the classroom in Term 1. Our annual Scholars’ assembly included the most scholarships in the School’s history and we have experienced multiple regional and national sporting, musical, and cultural successes.

The Prefect cohort has been busy with events such as the annual Parent Welcome Evenings. However, the main spectacle for the term was the opening of the School’s 150th Capital Project, Te Ara Mātauranga, which included a night with the Grammar community in the space outside the Main Block. The completed renovations in that area are finished and really create a grand entrance upon first arriving at the School. I personally have found Te Ara is an amazing space for students to study and has been extremely busy over the first set of exams for the year.

The key aspect that our leadership group wants to bring this year is connection and belonging within the School environment. We have expanded and improved the Augusta Army – the student led supporters crew – and it has been pretty special to see the number of students willing to give up their time to support their mates and the School. This will, no doubt, continue as winter codes begin in a few weeks.

The first term of any year at Auckland Grammar School is always filled with excitement and action. As it draws to a close, I encourage the boys to relax and enjoy their break: work hard, play hard. We have already achieved so much as a school in just a term, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year has in store.

Per Angusta Ad Augusta

T. C. Jones
2024 Head Prefect

End of Term

The Term 1 School Examinations have now concluded and your son will be in the process of receiving examination feedback from his classroom teachers. Alongside this feedback, normal teaching programmes will continue until the end of Period 7 this Friday 12 April.

Please be aware leave will not be granted for students to finish the term early for travel or holiday reasons. We appreciate your support as we aim to maximise teaching time.

Term 1 Reports

The first formal report of the year will be delivered electronically via the Parent Portal. This report focuses on your son’s Term 1 examination results and he will receive an examination mark and an attitude/effort grade for each subject. Please be aware there are no teacher comments on the first set of reports.

We expect reports will be made available on the Portal at the beginning of the second week of the holidays. You will be advised of the availability of the reports via email. 

Student Attendance – Notification of Absences

A reminder that if your son is absent, we ask you to immediately complete the Absence Notification e-form that is accessed within the Parent Portal on the day of his absence. This is a legal requirement and is part of our duty of care which we cannot fulfil without your co-operation.

Parents should log in and click on the Absence Notification link under Student Information, which is found on the homepage of the Parent Portal. Parents should be aware that submitting an e-form verifies your son’s absence and will generate an automatic response to the email address you have provided us. It is important that you do not disclose your Parent Portal login and password details to your son, to ensure the legitimacy of this functionality.

There is no requirement to phone the School nor to provide a written note to notify us of an absence.

Student Office Updates

Please note that the above system for notifying the School of your son’s absence does not apply for exeat requests, where temporary leave is sought to leave the campus for appointments throughout the School day. Your son should bring a note to the Deputy Headmaster on the front steps of the Main Block after assembly to receive approval.

When your son provides this note to the Deputy Headmaster, he will be given a permission slip to allow him to leave his lesson at the appropriate time, at which point he must formally sign out at the Student Office before departing.

If your son is late to school, due to a pre-arranged appointment, please provide him with a written note to be handed to the Student Office staff upon his arrival.

Parents should be aware the Student Office does not accept or distribute any items, including lunches, delivered for your son during the School day.

2023 Cambridge International Examinations Documentation and May/June 2024 Examination Series

Official Cambridge result certificates from the November 2023 Examination Series will be distributed to current students (who did Cambridge exams last year) at a Form Period this Thursday 11 April. Old Boys can collect their certificates from Main Reception on Monday 15 April between 10am-11am and 2pm-3pm.

Senior students who are re-sitting Cambridge AS examinations in the 2024 May/June Series received their Statement of Entry and Examination Timetable and Rooming Guide at an examination briefing on Tuesday this week. The Timetable and Rooming Guide for the May/June Series has been posted on the School website and on GrammarNet. Cambridge Examinations start on Friday 29 April and finish on Friday 10 June. Students and parents should also be reminded that, as per the AS Re-sit Application Form, students are not permitted to have Study Leave, as their regular A Level classes will be operating as usual during the exam period.

Parent Teacher Interviews in Term 2

We begin Parent Interviews in Term 2. Interviews take place between 3pm-6pm from Week 3 in the Great Hall. We would encourage you to take the opportunity to make appointments online to meet with your son’s teachers.

Interview bookings are made electronically and parents will be sent booking information and explanation of the process two weeks prior to your son’s year group interviews. Interview bookings are on a first in, first served basis, so we encourage you to act upon the email when you receive it.

Please be aware that the School day will conclude at 2:30pm on the days of Parent Interviews, as follows:

• Form 6 and 7 Interviews – Thursday 16 May
• Form 5 Interviews – Monday 20 May
• Form 4 Interviews – Tuesday 28 May
• Form 3 Interviews – Wednesday 19 June

Winter Sport

Trials are well underway for the winter sports season. We strongly encourage all young men to play a winter sport and hope that your son has registered for a winter code by now. If he has not done this he should see Head of Sport B. Richardson for more information or go direct to the Master in Charge of the code he wishes to play. He can find this information on the School website. 

Please remember full and correct sporting uniform is required from the start of the season, otherwise students will not be permitted to play. It is vital therefore that each player has the correct socks, shorts and shirt or jersey. We encourage parents to purchase the correct sports uniform as soon as possible, as winter sport starts promptly in Term 2.

The School does not allow young men to have compression clothing visible underneath their sports uniform. We appreciate your support as standards are set in all aspects of School life. 

It is always good to see strong School and parental support on our sidelines. We simply ask that Grammar expectations are met or surpassed and that we only share positive or encouraging comments. We really appreciate our parochial supporters, but we ask that actions, attitudes and comments are supportive of ‘The Grammar Way’.

Absences

If a young man is away from School the day prior to, or the day of, a sporting fixture for medical or other reasons, he will be ineligible to play for his School team. It is the School’s view that if a young man is not well enough to be at School prior to a fixture, he is not well enough to represent the School in any extracurricular activity. Please ensure his coach or manager is informed of such an absence before his game.

School Uniform

When Term 2 starts on Monday 29 April, students are permitted to wear jackets around School and in classes, however they are not permitted to wear jackets in Science laboratories or Technology workshops for health and safety reasons.

We remind all students that the only jackets that may be worn to School are the approved School Jacket (available for sale in the School Shop) and the School Rep jacket. Students should not wear the School cap from the beginning of Term 2.

Sandals are only approved for wear in Term 1 and Term 4. All students are expected to wear shoes and socks in Terms 2 and 3, with garters used to ensure their socks are worn to the top of their calf muscles.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As we prepare to conclude the term, I want to reiterate the School’s top priority is to provide your sons with sound teaching and rigorous and regular assessments that allow him – and you – to identify his progress and areas for future focus. 

I have reminded the School at daily assemblies leading up to the recent examination series that if we are to advance their acquisition of knowledge, teachers need to understand what subject specific content they have learnt and retained. This best occurs through providing checkpoints for learning in the form of assessments, such as the recent examination series. 

Creating and maintaining a stable, high standards environment, and a rigorous teaching framework supported by regular assessment are all essential to the fabric and makeup of Auckland Grammar School. While some of these elements have fallen to the wayside or have not been prioritised across the wider New Zealand education landscape, what is well-proven is that when applied well, these elements promote learning, and have done so through time. 

You will therefore understand why we continue to reinforce ‘The Grammar Way’ and will stand up for and protect our educational philosophies and ethos. This is because they are for the betterment of your sons’ education.

I have no doubt that the more consistent we are in building a unique School culture; where expectations are clearly articulated, and applied, a prescribed curriculum is taught, learning is regularly measured that this positively impacts on your sons’ development, the more chance there is for your sons to experience success with learning.

While we continue prioritising the requirements to run effective teaching programmes, we also want students to be actively engaged in School-based activities. This term they have included the annual Athletics and Swimming Championships, Auckland-wide summer sport Championships and competitions in the performing arts, including Polyfest and the National Youth Jazz Festival.  

Next term, your sons have the opportunity to be actively involved with winter sporting codes, music performances, productions, and a diverse range of clubs and activity groups. To get the best out of Auckland Grammar School young men need to be more than 9am to 3:15pm students. They need to personally challenge themselves through extracurricular activities. They then have every chance of realising their potential while understanding they are part of something much bigger than themselves.  

As your sons receive their Term 1 raw examination marks back, I hope they reflect on what they have learned this term, what they need to review and whether the marks they received aligned with the effort they put in and the attitudes they displayed in and out of the classroom. 

Thank you for the support you have shown your sons and Auckland Grammar School throughout the first term of the 2024 academic year.

Per Angusta Ad Augusta

Tim O’Connor
Headmaster

The Auckland Grammar Athletics team finished the Term 1 School Athletics season at the Auckland Secondary Schools Championships at Mt Smart Stadium on Tuesday 26 March. 49 athletes competed across all events and managed to claim a total of 39 podium finishes, including 17 titles and mostly new personal best times across the board.

Form 3 student D. Overend picked up the first two Silver medals in the Junior category for the 80m and 300m hurdles respectively. Form 4 student T. O. Henderson, who won the 80m hurdles, gain a second gold in the High Jump at 1.71m. Other Gold medals were won by Form 3 students R. C. Davies in the 800m, S. Yushchenko in the 200m and L. J. N. Caffery in the Shot Put, with each athlete gaining at least one further Silver medal, in the 1500m for Davies, two Silvers for Yushchenko for the Long Jump and the Javelin and the Discus for Caffery. Form 3 student Z. L. Stanley won the Javelin after narrowly missing out on podium placings in the Long Jump and High Jump, thus ensuring that Grammar athletes had won six medals out of nine across all age grades, including all the gold. Two further Silver medals were won by Form 3 students Z. J. Johnston in the 2000m Steeplechase and J. L. Martin in the 200m.

In the intermediate grade, Form 4 student R. W. Walker was second in the 300m hurdles, he earned Bronze in the Javelin and teamed up with Form 5 students M. M. Browne, N. J. Stanley and L. C. R. Thomson to gain silver in the 4x100m relay. L. C. R. Thomson went on to win both the 100m and the 200m, while N. J. Stanley won Silver in the Long Jump. Form 4 student H. C. Day won the 800m in 1:59:34s, a repeat of his 2023 success, while Form 5 student M. E. Wilkins was in third. Wilkins also took home Bronze in the 150mm with fellow classmate T. C. L. MacDonald earning Bronze in the 2000m Steeplechase. Form 5 student M. K. Jacobs fell just short of a podium placing in the Shot Put but threw a personal best of 13.28m, A. K. Sharma jumped over 1.80m in the High Jump to secure Gold and O. D. D. B. Neely secured a second consecutive win in the Javelin with a throw of 47.84m.

Captain of Athletics J. A. Thomson won Silver in the Senior hammer throw and the 100m, as well as Gold in the Javelin (with a throw of 49.04m), and in the 4x100m relay together with Form 6 students T. Chu, C. G. Howlett and S. C. Paris in 43.67s. Howlett won two further Gold in the 300m Hurdles in a record-breaking time of 39.31s, and the Open 4x400m relays, alongside Form 5 student L. C. R. Thomson 5G, Form 6 student C. P. Wagener and Form 7 student R.W. Fitzpatrick. C.P. Wagener dominated the senior 3000m, running alone at the front for most of the race and established a new Auckland record of 8:26.73s. He also won the 1500m in 4:02.27s, just three seconds ahead of R. W. Fitzpatrick in second place after an exciting race that was contested to the last bend. Fitzpatrick then went on to claim Bronze in the 800m and Form 6 student M. C. Lindsay 6D was second in the 400m. Fellow classmate H. P. Mossman narrowly missed out on a podium placing in the Triple Jump by a few centimetres, but was selected into the Auckland team for the North Island Secondary Schools Championships. Form 7 student T. C. Fox won Bronze in the Senior Javelin, and the Senior B 4x400m relay team, comprising Form 5 student J. A. Smith and M. E. Wilkins and Form 6 students M. C. Lindsay and S. C. Randerson placed third.

Special thanks to Athletics coaches S. Blackwell and C. Oates and to Master in Charge of Athletics N. Leiseder for their ongoing support of the squad.

Cricket

Competing at the Junior Secondary Schools Tournament, the Colts Cricket team secured wins against Whanganui College and Waitaki College and losses to Wellington College and Hamilton Boys’ High School. In the play-off for third place, the team played superbly against Christchurch Boys’ High School, restricting the opposition to 228/7 to finish third overall.

Disc Ultimate

The Premier Disc Ultimate team had a mixed start to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. With losses to Wellington College and Hutt Valley High School, the team rallied and bounced back with solid wins against Whakatāne High School and Birkenhead College. The team advanced to the semi-finals, then won against Pakuranga College 10-9 to finish third overall.

Mountain Biking

The North Island Secondary Schools Mountain Biking Championships saw 10 Grammar riders compete in four events across three days. The standout performance for Grammar was Form 5 student T. P. Mollison who was third in the Under 17 Cross Country. Other notable performances included the Under 20 Relay Team who were fifth, and Form 4 student W. C. White who was 12th in a large and competitive Under 15 Enduro Race field.

Rowing

The annual Maadi Cup at Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel saw the Under 15 Eight and Octuple crews advance to their respective A finals on the first day of racing. With the competition fierce, most heats meant only the winner to qualify for the A finals. Six crews qualified for A finals on day two, with the Under 18 Eight finishing in second place, just one second behind St Andrew’s College. With more crews competing in repêchages across the tournament, the School had seven crews in A finals and 5 crews in B finals, the best result for the squad since 2021.

Tennis

The Premier Tennis team started off their National Tournament campaign against Hamilton Boys’ High School, winning 4-2 after super tiebreaks. After a straight set win against Tauranga Boys’ College, the team had to rally after the doubles pairings lost in super tiebreakers, before playing Westlake Boys to decide semi-final seeds. Despite some good passages of play against some higher ranked opponents, the team went down 5-1. The team then played Te Kura in the semi-finals playing with grit and determination, before facing Westlake Boys’ High School on the final day to finish fourth overall.

Triathlon

The Triathlon squad competed at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Tauranga and achieved some fantastic results despite crashes on the bike legs of the team and individual races. The squad were still able to win both the Under 16 and Under 19 races, with an individual Bronze for Form 6 student Caleb Wagener in the Under 18 race.

Volleyball

During the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Palmerston North, the Premier Volleyball team had wins against Freyberg High School, Trinity Catholic College and Bay of Islands College, and losses against St Andrew’s College and St Bernard’s College to finish third in their pool. With wins over Hillmorton High School and Gisborne Boys’ High in the quarter and semi-finals, the team won against Bishop Viard College (the winning point won by an ace serve), securing first place in Division 4.

Water Polo

At the North Island Secondary Schools Championships, the Premier Water Polo team had wins against St Peter’s College and Tauranga Boys’ College, and a loss to Westlake Boys’ High School. Playing Sacred Heart College in the quarter-finals, the team showed great improvement from their previous matchup with Sacred Heart, eventually losing by just a single point. After another loss to Rosmini College, the team played St Kentigern College, winning 13-6 and finishing seventh.

Yachting

The Yachting squad competed at the Auckland Secondary Schools Teams Racing Regatta. Two Grammar teams had a strong start on day one of racing to finish second and third overall. Day two saw light and variable conditions, both teams winning all of their races. There were light winds on the final day of racing meaning no sailing with final placings decided on round robin results. This saw the Grammar Gold team take out the title being top in their round robin table, and the Grammar Blue team placed third. These results showing the depth of young Yachting talent.

It is with sadness that Auckland Grammar School recognises the sudden passing of Zachary (Zac) Lerner ’17 due to a medical emergency. As a recent Old Boy, Zac was a third-year student residing at St Paul’s College and studying at the University of Sydney.

Zac was a loyal and genuine member of the Grammar community. He had a lively and dry sense of humour, while his abilities and relationships traversed sport, music and student leadership.  

Zac was an academically able student who also excelled at Tennis as was reflected in his selection in the Premier Tennis team in both 2020 and 2021. He was a capable musician who had been a member of the Big Band throughout his five-year tenure at the School. Alongside his musical and sporting talents, he gave back to the School community as a member of the Interact group and the Chronicle’s editorial team.

Zac was a School Prefect in 2021 and led with character, without seeking personal reward or recognition. He remained connected with the School as an Old Boy and a proud Grammar boy.  

Zac was well-respected for his genuine demeanour, positive attitude and considerable potential, and he will be sadly missed. 

Our sympathies are extended to Zac’s mother, Rachel, and his brothers, Old Boys Jacob ’13 and Ben ’15 as well as to his wider family and friends. Our thoughts are also with the St Paul’s College, the University of Sydney community and the Old Boys residing there.  

As a sign of our respect to Zac’s family, the flag on the Main Block of Auckland Grammar School will be flown at half-mast until the end of Monday 18 March 2024.

As the term swiftly moves towards the assessment period and summer extracurricular activities reach their apogee, our students are increasingly busy and face challenges for their decision-making skills.

For students and their families, finding and holding hope through the plethora of choices that now confront them can be challenging. Yet ironically, there is certainty in the School day and the routines here at Auckland Grammar School which international research confirms has a mitigating effect on the anxiety many young students now feel. 

A parent recently suggested to a counsellor, “in my day we would never use the word ‘anxiety’, we would get a bit nervous before a Maths test or performance day with the orchestra. Now my son talks of the anxiety around ensuring that he maintains his physique or that he needs a new phone in order to support an updated digital platform.” The risk of peer judgement is not limited to a few close mates. Peers he has yet to meet may judge him, and he may experience negativity or anxiety. Learning to reframe and rename anxiety as a normal response which can be identified and overcome is a key skill for our young men to master. 

SchoolTV, a digital platform supported by Auckland Grammar School, helps the wider community understand the drivers around navigating complexities. The information available on SchoolTV support parents, teachers and deans to talk with their son/students and, conversely for their son, to believe that their parent might understand their complex ‘physical real’ and ‘digital real world’ a little more. Please take some time to explore the SchoolTV platform. It is packed with podcasts by people who support adolescents and whose experience and training supports parenting.

Helping students navigate subject and career possibilities with an understanding of how the brain works makes this journey around choices less confronting and allows students to research and discuss options.

Do contact the Student Services team if you wish to frame up next steps as a parent. Often counsellors bring a wide perspective and can link home and school contexts without emotional ties. Encourage your son to contact one of the counselling team to explore further. As always, an early and informed discussion between the Student Services counsellor and your son before they get ‘stuck’ is a positive, be it around a subject choice, post school option or, tools to better emotionally self-regulate. You or your son can contact the team directly via email or you can fill in the online form found here.

Social Media

We have taken time over the last four weeks to remind students of their online responsibilities, and how these relate directly to the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

While we acknowledge that social media does have some benefits, we have reminded our young men that their behaviour on all social media platforms must be respectful and appropriate at all times. In particular, we have and will continue to remind young men not to:

• Display images or send messages that may offend or harass another person
• Create, send, save or share material that may bring them, our School or a member of our community into disrepute

Should a student identify himself as a member of Auckland Grammar School in any online environment, he will be considered under the authority of the School and subject to School Rules. We encourage you to continue talking to your son about how to interact positively in any social media forum.

Should you have any concerns please contact Associate Headmaster – Operations S. McNaughton via email, your son’s Dean or one of the Student Services team.

Smart Devices

Auckland Grammar School does not permit mobile phones or smart devices to be used or visible on our campus between 8am-3:30pm. We do acknowledge that some students wear smart watches. The School currently permits these to be worn for the functionality of telling the time, however, accessing digital content remains prohibited during School hours. Within the context of internal and external examinations, smart watches are not permitted to be in an examination venue.

If your son does bring a smart device (other than a watch) to School, it should be kept in his bag at all times and be switched off. We recommend such items are not brought to School as we cannot be responsible for their whereabouts or loss. Furthermore, personal electronic equipment may not be used on School trips.

If a student is found using a mobile phone or smart device it may be confiscated by a teacher and delivered to the Deputy Headmaster Pastoral – Junior School D. Askew, who will store the device securely for seven days.

Your son may see him after School any time after the seventh day to retrieve the phone or device. Please support us by not requesting the device to be returned any sooner.

Mountain Road

Please consider Gates 1-4 closed for vehicular access at the start and end of the School day. Whilst the reinstatement of the grounds in front of the Main Block and around the War Memorial is now complete, we remind you that there is no vehicle access through Gate 1 or 1A.

We do ask that parents do not drive vehicles into any of the School gates on Mountain Road at the start or end of the School day. This is not practical and vehicular traffic at peak times of the School day poses a significant risk for our 2,650 young men who are entering or exiting the School grounds on foot.

Please be aware that for health and safety reasons Barnett Crescent has electronic bollards nearest to Clive Road. These remain up during the School day.

If you are dropping your son off or picking him up, please do this in one of the streets around the School, rather than in front of the School or by trying to enter Gates 1-4. We appreciate your co-operation in this regard.

Daily Notices

The notices read to the School each day in assembly are available to all young men and parents on the School website and on GrammarNet. You are able to access these online and discuss some of the activities available to your son.

School Cross Country

This year’s School Cross Country has been rescheduled to early in Term 2. Parents will be advised of this new date once confirmation is received.

Lost Property

Parents are reminded that all student uniform and personal property should be named. This allows lost property to be immediately returned to students who have misplaced items.

Students are encouraged to report directly to the Student Office at the end of each School day to check for uniform or equipment that they have lost.

Uniform

There has been much positive feedback about how well presented our students are and we too commend them for meeting or exceeding basic standards of dress and appearance this year.

Sports uniform
As young men join various sporting codes to represent Auckland Grammar School, there is a set uniform that young men must purchase.

While representing the School it is expected that young men wear their sports uniform correctly and abide by School Rules.

Students not dressed in correct sports uniform will not be permitted to play for the School at any stage. It is also expected that associated registration fees be paid on time, prior to playing. If fees are not paid or an arrangement is not made with the Master in Charge of the sport, unfortunately, young men will not be permitted to play.

All items of sports uniform can be purchased from the School Shop. You will find that many of the uniform items can be worn across a number of codes, hopefully saving parents in the long run. We would encourage you to see Mrs Serra Galuvao, our Shop Manager, to purchase your son’s winter sports uniform before the start of Term 2.

Students who are selected in Premier teams should consider purchasing a blazer and full formal uniform for interschool fixtures before the end of term.

School Rules

As part of best practice, we continually review and refine our systems and procedures.

Our rules are important in creating a safe physical and emotional environment for students and staff. The general safety of our young men and the provision of a structured, challenging environment suited to the development of boys and young men is of paramount importance to us.

The school Rules can be found on the School website. Should you have any questions regarding the School Rules, please contact Executive Assistant D. Watson via email.

Student Driven Vehicles

Form 6 or 7 students who have completed the School’s permission process to bring a vehicle to School have permission to drive a car to School. Under no circumstances are students permitted to bring a vehicle to School until they have completed the permission process. Students at other form levels do not have permission to drive a vehicle to School. Students may not park in the School grounds.

Please note that permission to drive to School is granted at the School’s discretion and this permission may be revoked for instances of inappropriate or illegal driving.

We remind parents and our young men that this permission does not extend to carrying passengers, unless both the School and parents have approved it in writing. This permission process includes School-related extracurricular activities.

Please contact Deputy Headmaster Pastoral – Senior School N. Lobb via email for further information about student driven vehicles.

Winter Sports Codes

Registration for winter sports will continue to take place in the weeks ahead. Many young men will begin trialling for Premier teams from Week 9 and all other teams from Week 10 so that they are ready for strong competition very early in Term 2.

We do encourage all students to get involved with at least one winter activity; your son’s involvement will be logged in our Student Management System and will be noted on his mid-year report. If your son is not involved in the wider life of the School, please discuss this with him and us as it is part of Grammar life.

As with summer codes, young men who are absent from School on a Friday will be deemed ineligible by the School to play sport on a weekend. This applies to mid-week interschool fixtures as well, where a young man is absent the day prior to or the day of an interschool fixture. School attendance and academic studies are a clear priority.

A reminder also that where young men are involved in activities that return late at night, that without exception, they are expected to be at School the next school day. This includes international tours and regional or national tournaments.

2025 School Year

As advance warning for the 2025 School year, please be advised the academic year will start on Tuesday 21 January for all year levels. All key term dates for 2025 can be found on the School Schedule.

In assembly over the past six weeks, many young men have crossed stage to be recognised for their academic successes, leadership, and/or successes in sport or the performing arts. Their accomplishments are worthy of celebration and are exemplars for others to follow. 

Your sons are part of an environment that presents what is possible and challenges them to be the best they can be. From our experience, the most engaged students willingly participate inside and outside the classroom. They show self-discipline by being at school on time, meeting expectations and managing their time to meet their learning and extracurricular commitments. While not all engaged students are recognised by crossing the stage, they are building the resilience required to experience success.

My most recent messaging to your sons has included: “When you insist on the best, you often get it.” Insisting on the best involves being prepared to regularly study and making sacrifices to learn. Insisting on the best involves building the resilience to perform a personal best, rather than making excuses when things get tough, because learning can quite often be difficult. It also involves contributing to the School’s standards and expectations.

Within this Bulletin, you will read of considerable academic successes in Cambridge, NCEA and Scholarship examinations. We are proud of the way students achieved at the highest level nationally and internationally in 2023 and commend those who earned a place on the University Entrance Scholars Board. The names of the 33 scholars will join the names from previous years that surround the Great Hall.

While we will continue to celebrate those who achieve at the highest level in any area of School life, we also recognise those who regularly apply themselves to their studies, attend all classes and attend all examinations. Academically, they can and do achieve, no matter what stream they are in or what qualification pathway they follow. Perhaps the clearest example of this is through University Entrance, which is the only aspect of NCEA that can be compared like for like across the country. 

In a cohort of 417 Form 7 students last year, 86.1% earned University Entrance across NCEA and Cambridge pathways. This figure is much higher than overall national averages and far exceeds national averages for male students (41.5%) and female students (52.4%). Our congratulations are extended to all students who earned University Entrance.

I raise this with you as we enter a busy time of the term so that you can reinforce with your sons that their daily attendance, engagement and commitment to School standards will pay off. It will not always mean they can be the best, but through doing their best they can be proud of their efforts and experience success. 

Your sons should now have started their study programmes for the Term 1 examinations, which start on Thursday 4 April. The next four weeks are an important time for your sons to be putting regular discretionary effort into their studies prior to Easter.

Finally, alongside our responsibility to grow your sons’ knowledge, we take our responsibility to helping them become contributing members of their School and society seriously. Writer Bruce Chatwin reminded us that we can do this daily through what we say and what we do: “Our words shape our story, our story becomes our framework for our behaviours and our behaviours determine how we live our lives.”

Per Angusta Ad Augusta

Tim O’Connor
Headmaster