When Murray Gadd went to school, he never thought of himself as much of an academic.
But now, the 64-year-old Hastings man recently made it on to Auckland University's prestigious Dean's List, for his thesis about teaching literacy in primary schools.
A place on the list is reserved only for the handful of PhD students who achieve excellence in their doctoral studies.
Mr Gadd has been a literacy consultant at schools throughout the country, including a number of Hastings schools, for the past 10 years. It took him seven years of part-time study to complete his PhD.
He made a foray into academia after the Ministry of Education asked him to write a text about teaching, reading and writing to Year 5 to 8 students.
"I realised there were questions I didn't have answers to, about why the high level of underachievement existed in writing."
In the course of his studies, he discovered key methods for raising achievement in the classroom, such as careful selection of writing topics.
"Kids have got to be writing about something they're excited about. It's about keeping them engaged."
But he never dreamed his discoveries about effective teaching would earn him a place among his university's most esteemed alumni.
"It was quite unbelievable really. When I went to school I never thought of myself as being very scholastic or academic. I was elated."
Mr Gadd currently lives on Auckland's Waiheke Island.
Armed with his new findings, he will continue to work with schools around the country - including his old stomping ground, Heretaunga Intermediate.