Hard work pays off for students

Grace Rhynd is off to the New Zealand Broadcasting School after passing NCEA level three with merit. Photo / Francesca Jago

Thousands of Northland teenagers sat by their computers yesterday refreshing NCEA's website until their much anticipated exam results were released.

One of those was 18-year-old Grace Rhynd who was happy to discover her hard work had paid off. "I did pretty well I think," she said. "I got level three with merit and I was aiming for that."

She was one of 5250 Northland students who sat NCEA exams late last year with 2575 students sitting NCEA level one, 2033 level two, 1285 level three and 170 taking part in scholarship exams.

Before the results were posted Miss Rhynd, who finished Year 13 at Whangarei Girls High School last year, was quietly confident.

That was because like many students she had already sat a number of internal assessments earlier in the year so she had a good idea of what her overall result would be. Ms Rhynd had sat an exam for each of her chosen topics in Year 13: English, French, Statistics, Media Studies and Geography. Before the results were posted she had already been accepted into the New Zealand Broadcasting School at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology with conditional entry.

However, not all her peers were in the same boat. Students whose course entry depended on their results would have had a very anxious yesterday morning, Miss Rhynd said. "If you're waiting on scholarships or you're waiting on your course ... that can be super stressful for some people".

Despite the stress most of her friends seemed to be doing as well if not better than expected.

Kamo High School history teacher Adele Towgood said it was a chance for students to reflect on how the year had gone. "Most should feel very pleased with themselves for taking up the challenge."

"If the results aren't as expected they should look towards opportunities in the coming year to improve and extend themselves."

Careers New Zealand programme manager Julie Thomas said exam results often help confirm the immediate study or career pathway young people can take.