Maori And Pasifika Excelling at Vanguard
Vanguard Military School is pleased to be able to release its provisional NCEA results for 2015 as confirmed by NZQA.
The school achieved a 93% pass rate at NCEA Level 1, a 100% pass rate at Level 2 and a 93% pass rate at Level 3. All of
these results are well above the national average for NCEA and, in the case of Maori and Pasifika students, they are 20%
higher than the national average.
CEO Nick Hyde said “Vanguard has gained top academic results for two years in a row now. I’m delighted to see that the
hard work by the staff and the students is being rewarded with results that are showing the students’ potential and this
is allowing them to open doors to employment and higher education opportunities that they previously might not have
considered. “
One of those achieving is Coley Lyndon-Tonga who travels from Pukekohe every day to attend Vanguard. “I was very proud
of my results and of myself. The results I achieved were far greater than all my previous results in my previous years
put together.”
The school has also increased the number of merit and excellence endorsements in NCEA and in individual subjects from
its 2014 results, which shows it is continually looking to improve, year after year.
One of Vanguard’s top students, Jamie Coffman, who gained an excellence endorsement in NCEA Level 2, was asked why she
thought she had done so well.
“The staff all encourage me to do my best. The quote ‘do something today your future self will thank you for’ has
resonated with me, encouraging me and motivating me to do well in all aspects of life.” Asked if she could have achieved
her results at another school, she replied “I don’t think I’d even be attending school still. I probably would have
dropped out the moment things got hard.”
Vanguard uses a military ethos to educate its students and is a throwback to an older more traditional style of
teaching. It is compulsory for all students to take Maths, English and Physical Education as subjects and there are no
portable devices used for student learning.
Principal Rockley Montgomery believed the school’s unique educational model, the outstanding efforts of staff and the
Vanguard students, who are taught to work hard on a focused curriculum and to never give up, had made the difference.
“These results are even more striking as Vanguard receives Year 11 students at all levels of development. We are all
looking forward to another high-achieving year.” said Montgomery.
The school is also happy to announce that since its opening in 2014 as one of the first Partnership Schools with a roll
of 104 it has now grown to around 160 students in 2016 and will continue to look to expand.
ENDS