A new online private school is offering "motivated" students an opportunity for extra study in key subjects such as science and maths amid concerns too few young New Zealanders are taking on - or mastering - the disciplines.
Mark Phillips, principal at Crimson Global Academy (CGA), says New Zealand has dropped behind global standards while the relative number of Kiwi students opting for subjects like these has fallen over time.
He says it is particularly concerning given that he believes an ability in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) will underpin a large number of jobs in the future: "Even those in marketing are starting to require knowledge of data science and their way around spreadsheets."
The academy is offering after-school classes from May in science, maths and English. Phillips says students who want to study this way will need to be highly motivated because the classes are designed to give students extra tuition to build on what they are learning in their regular school lessons.
The classes come as a 2020 study revealed New Zealand's 13-year-olds recorded their worst ever results in a major international maths and science test in which more than 580,000 Year 5 and Year 9 students in 64 countries participated.
The Year 9 students maths score fell to 482 on a scale where 500 is the midpoint (the worst result since the test was first held in 1994 and a drop of 11 points since the last test in 2015) in a Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which also showed New Zealand had one of the biggest achievement gaps in mathematics.
Directors of the study, Dr Ina Mullis and Dr Dick Martin from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College in the United States said this decline was not only "a little startling" but showed a probably "insurmountable gap" in maths achievement compared to Asian countries.
Singapore topped the table in every subject and age group. The average maths score for 13-year-olds was, at 616, well above that of New Zealand students.
Phillips says STEM subjects are the foundation to any pathway students want to pursue in the future and going deep into them is critical to a student's success.
"We are giving students an opportunity to accelerate their learning in these areas because with the competency-based approach we have in most schools, these opportunities are extremely limited," he says. "We know New Zealand is behind the global standard so we recommend young people study one to two years ahead in their core subjects to prepare them for university."
He says by studying A levels after school through CGA students are able to build on the content they've learned in regular school and, at the same time, often cover first-year university material.
"High school and education generally are the most critical things for the next generation of young people and many parents wonder how they help their child make the most out of high school. The A levels we offer are recognised for their academic rigour and breadth of learning – and are part of the recognised international GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) curriculum."
Phillips says GCSE is taught in over 10,000 schools by over a million students in 160 countries and its A level qualifications are recognised globally by over 1400 universities.
The part-time, after-school classes will allow students to study at a time and a pace that suits them and to learn in small class environments (CGA aims for a maximum of 12 students per class).
CGA launched in April 2020 with just 15 students but, Phillips says, this number has now grown to almost 700, 30 per cent of whom study full-time.
Up to 40 per cent of CGA students are studying at a higher level than their age while 70 per cent achieved an A-level in the most recent GCSE exams.
Phillips believes the Covid pandemic has helped many accept the concept of online study. "Our teachers and students enjoy the online experience while it is also attractive to families who are uncertain about school closures and health risks."
For more information go to www.crimsonglobalacademy.school/nz