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Catholic secondary schools in Auckland have been singled out for high praise in Metro magazine’s annual analysis of the region’s schools.
Editor Simon Wilson wrote that academic results are critically important, but the best measure of a school is its character.
“In the sense that it takes a village to raise a child, good schools actively foster a community of home and school where each supports the other and they share each others’ values.”
Wilson cites Catholic schools as “the shining example”.
“Pretty much every Catholic school in Auckland is doing remarkably well academically”, he notes.
“One big reason is the ready-built home/school relationship they have through the church.
“It provides a set of shared values and an active commitment to each other.”
Wilson writes that secular schools can achieve these things too and many do.
“But often it doesn’t come so easily to them.”
In considering the schools’ academic performance, Metro grouped them in decile rankings or noted they were private.
Two Mercy schools, Carmel College on the North Shore and McAuley High School in Otahuhu, were singled out for praise.
Decile 10 Carmel was described as “outstanding”, with special note taken that “almost nobody left school without at least [NCEA] level 2”.
Decile one McAuley was labelled “a phenomenon”, with three quarters of school leavers having level 3 NCEA qualifications.
“There’s another pattern in these results. Most of the outstanding schools are Catholic,” Wilson wrote.
The article stated there was no one reason for this, before citing the same deduction as its editorial – strong school/family/church ties make a difference.
Elsewhere in Metro, a columnist noted the editor’s belief that their annual school edition is the monthly magazine’s best selling one for the year.
Source
- Metro
- Image: stuff.co.nz
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