Four Whanganui schools have scored among the top in the country for NCEA results by decile rating.
Cullinane College's Year 12 students posted an NCEA pass rate of 97 per cent - among the top five in New Zealand for decile 4 schools.
Meanwhile, 96.3 per cent was the Year 12 pass rate at Whanganui Girls' College, which ranked in the top five nationally for decile 3 schools.
Nga Tawa School and Wanganui Collegiate School were among the top five decile 9 schools, with pass rates of 100 per cent and 99.1 per cent respectively.
The annual National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) statistics show that many schools have lifted their pass rates in the past year.
Averages increased most in lower-decile schools, up from 81.5 per cent to 84.2 per cent in deciles 1-3. There were smaller increases from 87.9 per cent to 89 per cent in deciles 4-7 and from 92.8 per cent to 93.6 per cent in deciles 8-10.
The national average pass rate rose slightly from 88.5 per cent of those who attempted Level 2 in Year 12 in 2015 to 89.9 per cent in 2016.
Year 12 results for other schools in the area:
• Wanganui Collegiate School: 99.1 per cent
• Ruapehu College: 89.7 per cent
• Whanganui High School: 88.2 per cent
• Rangitikei College: 86 per cent
• Whanganui City College: 84.5 per cent