More Omicron in Auckland, help finally set to arrive in Tonga and NCEA results are released in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Bay of Plenty students are feeling a mix of excitement and surprise following the "nerve-racking" release of NCEA results on Thursday.
The marks went live yesterday morning on the NZ Qualifications Authority's (NZQA) website with more than 160,000 Kiwi students accessing results.
Former Rotorua Lakes High School student Yezsa Pagtolon-an. Photo / NZME
Former Rotorua Lakes High School student Yezsa Pagtolon-ansaid she had mixed emotions before seeing her results.
"I kind of wanted to see my results but I also didn't want to at the same time. I know I couldn't take back what I wrote in externals," the 17-year-old said.
"Results aren't much of a worry as long as I pass my externals."
She planned on spending the first half of this year working and then would go on to study engineering in either Wellington or Auckland.
Kathryn Lacey, who has been studying through Te Kura for the past two years, received merit in her biology external.
The 18-year-old was "really happy" with her overall NCEA result compared to the previous year when she was left "upset" after seeing her marks.
The Taupō based student has been learning from home her entire life.
"This year it came out the way I feel I deserve. I feel great, I got exactly what I wanted."
She only received results for one exam as all of her other subjects were completed internally.
18-year-old Kathryn Lacey, who lives in Taupō, has been studying through Te Kura for the past two years. Photo / Supplied
While lockdowns did not take a toll on her learning, Lacey said it was "pretty rough" when the country switched to the traffic light system in December.
She found the introduction of vaccine passes and job mandates particularly difficult.
"People have started to argue which has been really rough on my mental health. And NCEA is tough, if you don't have your mind on it you are not going to get through. It was a struggle to balance everything that was going on and school."
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh said he had not yet looked at results in detail but was overall "very pleased" with what he had seen.
"It is a big relief. You never know until they sit externals how they are going to go.
"We are looking at nearly a 100 per cent pass rate in levels 1, 2 and 3."
He said "a lot of work" had been put in by teachers, parents and students last year to ensure students stayed on top of school work during the lockdown.
John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh. Photo / NZME
"We are delighted that Covid-19 hasn't disrupted the educational achievements of the students."
Mount Maunganui College student Luca Ririnui completed external exams for maths and biology despite only being in Year 10 last year.
He logged on to the student portal on Thursday morning and felt "kind of excited".
"I wasn't too nervous. I felt fairly confident that I was at least going to achieve so I wasn't too fussed."
Since checking he was feeling "pretty good" with his marks.
"I did as well as I could have done."
Completing NCEA external a year early had given him a good understanding of what was to come, he said.
"It has been good to practice to know how much work I have to put in. Trying to get top marks does take quite a bit of work."
Otūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon expected full data on student results in the coming week but said all students who sat exams last year deserved recognition.
Despite the short timeframe of the last year's lockdown in the Bay, he said it still caused "minor disruption" to student learning.
"I acknowledge every young person that sat their exams. It just speaks to their tenacity and resilience," he said.
"This day is one of anticipation for our students. But there is always that sense of foreboding before you open your results."
The provisional results showed overall attainment was slightly lower than 2020 but higher than 2019, NZQA deputy chief executive Andrea Gray said.
"This suggests the interventions put in place to support students following lockdown last year were largely successful."
Data showed exam attendance rates were low in the regions worst hit by lockdowns — Northland, Auckland and Waikato where students were absent for 43.2 per cent of externally assessed standards in 2021. In 2020, the rate was 10.7 per cent across those regions.
Nationally, the absence rate was 27.3 per cent, compared to 11.5 per cent in 2020.
Gray said the authority always expected students to attend exams where possible but had anticipated Covid-19 would have "a considerable impact on attendance".
