What was your motivation to move away from streaming?

Our mission is to create good young men. When I started here seven years ago, we had one to six setting, (year level classes ranked 1-6) and you can imagine the mentality that a group of boys have when they call themselves the cabbage class. We then changed to two top bands and four middle bands. That has since changed.

What was the approach you took to making the shift?

The initial development of the Christ’s College Diploma arose from teacher consensus that Level 1 NCEA was no longer necessary in a world where Level 2 was really the entry qualification for next steps. We worried that the gap between Level 1 and Level 2 was too great, and the three years of continual assessment eroded the boys’ engagement with their learning. The idea emerged that we replace Level 1 with a two-year Diploma in which we could tailor content to better prepare students for Level 2 as well as focus on character development.

In the Diploma students are given a choice of course wherever possible. All learning areas are compulsory, but within many of these, boys can choose the context of their learning. For example, in Geography they can study “Megacity Madness” or “Extreme Natural Events” in Digital Technology they can focus on either robotics or website development. What this has enabled is a programme where boys self-select and classes are truly mixed ability, including a mix of Year 10 and 11 students in several of the courses. 

The development of our bespoke curriculum has also enabled us to include compulsory courses in areas we feel contribute to all-round development. Te ao Māori, MindFit (aka wellbeing), and Financial Literacy were all new additions.

We recognised that learning also happens outside the classroom and part of the Diploma experience is completing Ngā Miha Mātauranga, comprised of six elements: Character & Leadership, Community & Service, Discovery & Challenge, Global Citizenship, Sustainable Futures, and Taha Māori. When boys go above and beyond the compulsory experiences in these elements, their initiative and impact are recognised with a Silver or Gold Diploma. This has really encouraged boys to see beyond themselves and make greater contributions than we had traditionally witnessed at this age.

Now there is no NCEA Level 1. Instead, Year 10 and 11 students undertake a College Diploma programme where most classes are mixed ability and mixed age. Students have a great deal of choice within the Diploma programme though maths is still ability grouped.

We used to report from Year 9 – achieved, merit, excellence but the school has shifted its reporting to learning progressions for Years 9-11. 

The approach to prerequisites is ‘If that’s the course they want to do, that’s the course they get to do’. While they set an aspirational achievement target for course entry, keeping boys' pathways open, is considered far more important.

What does success look like?

Early survey data suggests that our Diploma students are our most motivated and engaged and anecdotally our first full two-year cohort has started their NCEA with greater focus and effort.

The students that were concerned about us taking NCEA level 1 away were some of the top set kids and they were asking what will motivate us. These top set boys whose parents were worried they wouldn’t be accelerated enough have flown in these mixed ability classes with the opportunity to explore their passions and interests more.

I had an email from a parent going I love the change, we can now talk about what the next step is, we can have real conversations about learning and so I think that’s been really important as well for breaking down perceptions as to who is the brightest.