Ordinary school shows how aiming high can be extraordinarily successful

Auckland consistently ranks highly in lists of the world's best cities but is never number one. So what would it take to turn Auckland into a first-class city? This week the Herald begins a 10-day series examining some of the biggest hurdles Auckland faces, from housing and transport to entertainment and education. We look at what we are doing, what we need to do, and why Auckland's success matters to the rest of the country. In part three of the series we look at education.

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• WORLD CLASS AUCKLAND - Part 1: Housing
• WORLD CLASS AUCKLAND - Part 2: Environment

Wednesday lunchtime at Mt Roskill Grammar School is probably not how you'd imagine the egalitarian dream to look.

A sudden rain shower has forced students inside and they are crowded about in a chattering, steaming mess. It smells like wet socks and body spray and pheromones. Like teenagers. Much like every other Auckland secondary school.

Mt Roskill Grammar, however, is something slightly special. It isn't private, or Catholic. You don't have to sell a kidney to get into its school zone. In fact, it's a decile four, and its student population is as varied as they come. And yet, it gets excellent results every year.

It shouldn't be the case that schools like Mt Roskill are a surprise. But an analysis of schools results including NCEA, University Entrance and Scholarship for Auckland shows it's one of only a handful of state schools where achievement levels don't go hand-in-hand with the value of the surrounding homes.

Their secret is in two key words, Principal Greg Watson says. These are "aspirational" and "structured". There is a line drawn in the sand that at Mt Roskill, it is possible for children from every family - including their many new migrants - to go to university. "In fact, we say that it's more than possible. There's an expectation that there will be a successful next step."

The school's strengths lie in a few different areas. Firstly, it has an excellent relationship with its feeder schools, Mt Roskill Intermediate, and Mt Roskill Primary, which are on adjacent sites, meaning they know about their students before they even arrive. The schools also do entry interviews for every pupil, to work out where they're at. While many are below the expected level (due in part to English being a second language) the school doesn't dwell on that.

"We are looking to open doors for them rather than thinking 'what do we have here.'" Mr Watson says.

Secondly, the school works hard to get students excited about their education. It has developed academies in various areas - hockey, football, netball, Maori and robotics - which encourage 'passion-led' learning. "We continue to ensure there's a strong academic platform, but we make it so when they get to the end of Year 10 they still love learning," Mr Watson says.

Thirdly, a mentoring system helps build a sense of ownership for students, so they take charge and know what they are expected to learn. Senior students and their family meet with a teacher mentor throughout the year, and work towards goals. Mr Watson says the school wants "powerful learners" who are self-motivated and ready for the world by the time they exit the school gates.

Most of what they do is just hard work, and no different to what is being done at schools across Auckland, Mr Watson says, it's just much of the schools' work goes largely unseen.

"In terms of the teaching profession we have strength across the board," he says. "It's all about good teaching. It's about the non-sexy stuff...sometimes people can be enamoured by the glitter. The culture in the school, that's the key."

Mt Roskill Grammar results, 2014:

NCEA LEVEL 2: 86.8%
UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE:53.8 %
SCHOLARSHIP: 11.2 %

Combining learning with football

Mount Roskill Grammar School teacher Callum Christopher, left, with students Glen Lewis, centre, and Mustafa Sheikh, right. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Mt Roskill Grammar School's head boy has broken his teacher's cell phone. It's not what you'd think - Glen Lewis, 17, has sent a text message so long the phone can't deal with it.

The text message reflections are part of the way coach and English teacher Callum Christopher combines learning with football to get the boys inspired. Glen, who is also the captain of the XI, takes it very seriously, sending what Mr Christopher calls an "essay" each week.

The rest of the team are equally dedicated, if not quite so verbose. They did the reflections through the summer, and credit the work with improvement in scores both on and off the field. The programme, called "Being Roskill" started as a documentary series three years ago, and has now morphed into an academy programme the junior students take as an optional class.

Glenn, now in his final year of school, says he would have loved to have the chance to be part of the football academy. He's a bit jealous, but says helping get the academy off the ground has been extremely rewarding.

"It's great to see the junior boys get that opportunity," he says. "They use some of the things they learn in football and put that into the classroom - it's training, and literacy work in one."

Mr Christopher, who oversees the documentaries and runs the academy, is dedicated to expanding the student's horizons. They read books, and write about those on their Facebook page, and visit the art gallery, and respond to what they've seen on film.

There's also extra tutoring for the juniors, run by seniors, and the team has even done a stint feeding the homeless.

Football is woven through the learning - be it current events about football, or talks on wellness and nutrition.

"It's about using the passion they have for football as a tool for outcomes in the academic arena," Mr Christopher says.

Mustafa Sheikh, 13, is one of the academy students. He's only year 9 but has just moved into the first XI and is developing his skills at a fast pace. He takes the academy class this term - it's two physical sessions and one on literacy.

"I think it's good," he says. "We are using football to help us learn. One of the best things is that when some of the boys are slower than others, we can help each other."