Are you currently studying NCEA?

Find out if NCEA is the right high school curriculum for you

What is the NCEA?

The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the main national qualification for secondary school students in New Zealand. NCEA is recognised by employers and used for selection by universities and polytechnics, both in New Zealand and overseas.

Is NCEA right for you?

There are a number of factors that can help you decide what curriculum is right for you. The 3 main criteria we look at are the curriculum content, its examination style, and its global recognition. The importance of each criterion can vary with each student's individual goals and aspirations.

Curriculum structure

NCEA is split into three levels. In general, students work through these levels from Year 11 to 13 in school. The key ingredients in NCEA are standards and credits, with one leading to the other. NCEA allow students to freely choose the subjects that they would like to study.

Examination Style

In NCEA, skills and knowledge are assessed against a number of achievement standards. Regular international assessments and external exams at the end of each year are used to measure how well students meet these standards - with no opportunities for resits in the external exams.

Global recognition

The NCEA is made for New Zealand students in mind. International universities are unfamiliar with NCEA, particularly in the US & UK, who often require additional information for review. As such, admission to top universities is difficult based solely on NCEA results.

Have you considered other curricula?

Download our exclusive curriculum ebook to find out everything you need to know about the main curricula offered in NZ high schools.

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International GCSE & A-levels
The International GCSEs and A Levels are the most commonly studied curriculum around the world. They are based on the UK high school education system and are adapted for a global student base.

Subjects are designed to follow a logical, structured syllabus with all the learning goals a student should expect to master over the course of their qualification, clearly laid out.
IB
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme is an internationally recognised curriculum that aims to foster internationally-minded and well-rounded students. Around 5,000 schools around the world offer the programme.

The IB was first proposed in the 1960s for high school students only. Since then it has grown into a K-12 programme, with the Early Years Programme (EYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP).
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are a set of US curricula created by College Board to give students the opportunity to take college-level courses and, depending on the score a student receives on the exam, receive college credit.

Why is the curriculum you choose important?

Watch our executive principal, John Morris, explain the importance of choosing the right high school curriculum.

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