MANDY SMITH
Hastings Girls' High School principal Geraldine Travers says the school's rating was "very affirming and very humbling".
Body1: Hastings Girls' High School has been judged best state school in New Zealand by a national magazine study.
The unofficial A-plus comes from North and South deputy editor Virginia Larson in a February-issue probe throwing the rule over the country's 352 dedicated secondary schools.
Her review makes a point of how the decile two school punches well above its weight in academic achievement, noting that while each year-nine intake arrives with 50 percent of its pupils in the bottom third of the old PAT reading levels, they are well above the average by the time they tackle NCEA Level One literacy in Year 11.
The external achievement results of the school's Maori and Pacific pupils, who together comprise 42 percent of the school's roll, are nearly 15 percent better than the national averages for their ethnicities.
"But," says principal Geraldine Travers, "we always want to do better."
Ms Larson evaluated the nation's schools on a range of factors, including academic rankings and school safety.
The publication said the school, which has a roll of 770, was "a country mile ahead of its decile band" and "a shining example of when to ignore decile ratings and choose a school that has only the highest expectations of every student".
Although the study was not scientific (the schools were selected based on positive comment from people in respected education circles and its author apologises for a shortage of information on schools in the south) Mrs Travers said the school's rating was "very affirming and very humbling".
"Our kids perform extremely well and that covers the whole field, not only academic success but sporting success as well," she said. "I think we are producing good citizens."
Some of the other outstanding schools were Auckland Grammar, Hamilton Boys' High School, Wanganui High School and Wellington College.
TOP STORY: Top honour for Bay school
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.