Otago Boys’ High School

School Evaluation Report 

Tēnā koutou e mau manawa rahi ki te kaupapa e aro ake nei, ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa. Mā wai rā e kawe, mā tātau katoa.

We acknowledge the collective effort, responsibility and commitment by all to ensure that the child remains at the heart of the matter.

Every New Zealand state and state integrated school has an ERO report at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved. 

About the school

Situated in the centre of Dunedin city, Otago Boys’ High School provides education for boys from Years 9 to 13. The school’s current roll is 840, with 62% identifying as Pākehā | New Zealand European, 17% as Māori, 14% Asian and 7% as being of Pacific descent. The school’s vision is that its students become confident, resilient men with a sense of purpose, prepared to explore and contribute to a changing world.

Education Counts provides further information about the school’s student population, student engagement and student achievement, school enrolments and school zones. educationcounts.govt.nz/home 

An explanation of the terms and judgements used in this report can be found here: Reporting | Education Review Office

Improvement and progress

This section is about the progress the school has made since May 2023 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

ERO and the school have worked together to evaluate the effectiveness of a student-centred learning programme in enhancing student engagement and promoting academic success for all learners.

Expected Improvements

The school aimed to create a learning programme that keeps boys engaged and helps every student progress, giving them a strong base for senior years. Their focus was on making sure all boys have meaningful learning experiences that help them become confident, capable lifelong learners.

Findings

A school-wide approach using shared teaching and learning strategies is engaging boys in learning activities they find increasingly relevant and engaging. Learner and teacher feedback is increasingly guiding improvements to lesson design and teaching strategies.

A clearly defined curriculum structure gives clarity and consistency to planning. This is improving learner engagement and effort in the junior programme. The integration of a literacy and mathematics focus across learning areas is improving learners’ foundational skills.

Regular reporting and recognition of learners’ progress and effort is motivating learners and improving parent and whānau understandings about improved learner outcomes.

Other Findings

The greatest shift from the school's actions is a continued commitment to using evidence-based teaching strategies that directly improve learning outcomes.

What we know about learner success

This is a summary of learner success, which guides the School Board’s future strategic direction, including any education in Rumaki/bilingual settings.

Learner Success and Wellbeing

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

• Year 9 and 10 achievement in literacy and mathematics is improving and student achievement in writing improved significantly in 2024.
• Most learners achieving the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) literacy and mathematics co-requisites by the end of year 10.
• Most year 11, 12 and 13 learners achieve very well in NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 and in University Entrance (UE). Learner performance in NCEA Level 3 and UE improved significantly in 2024.
• Junior and senior Māori learners’ achievement is similar to other groups of students. The school continues to work towards achieving equitable outcomes for students of Pacific heritage.
• A small majority of learners attend regularly. Levels of regular attendance are improving but are behind the Government's target of 80% regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

This section provides a summary of leadership, teaching, curriculum and foundation school conditions for improvement.

• Leaders are strengthening the collection, analysis and response to data to ensure the school knows how well it is improving learner engagement, progress and achievement at all year levels.
• Leaders mentor teachers in developing a range of strategies to make teaching and learning increasingly effective and engaging for their learners.
• Leaders collaborate to enhance staff capacity to foster sustained positive outcomes for learner wellbeing, progress, and achievement.

• Teachers and learners build respectful relationships, creating settled, positive classroom environments.
• Schoolwide planning shapes coherent year 9 and 10 programmes, closely aligning them with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum and school values. As a result, programmes increasingly develop students’ capabilities as lifelong learners.
• Teachers purposefully seek learners’ feedback to determine the impact of teaching strategies on student learning outcomes at all year levels.

• School leadership consults widely with the school community to determine the school’s strategic direction and its emphasis on high expectations for learner progress, achievement and wellbeing.
• The school’s pastoral team work collaboratively and use effective strategies to monitor learners’ wellbeing and promptly respond when required to address concerns.
• The school Board and leadership are well informed about the effectiveness of learning programmes and achievement trends and apply this information to guide strategic and annual planning. 

Next steps for improvement

This section provides more detail for the school to include in its strategic and annual planning for ongoing improvement across the school. It identifies actions for improvement. 

Key priorities

• Embedding evidence-based teaching practices to improve engagement in learning.
• Developing literacy and mathematics learning across all curriculum areas to improve student achievement.
• Improving regular attendance. 

Actions to bring about improvement

Within three months: 

• leaders and teachers plan and implement strategies to improve and sustain regular attendance

Within six months:

• leaders implement staff professional learning and mentorship in evidence-based teaching approaches that improve student engagement in learning
• leaders review strategies to ensure that there are a range of supports in place to assist learners whose attendance needs to improve

Every six months:

• leaders and teachers review learning programmes to ensure that appropriate teaching practices are used to increase learner engagement and that opportunities are provided to develop literacy and mathematics skills
• leaders and teachers review data to identify trends and patterns and apply this to increase learner attendance

Annually:

• leaders and teachers evaluate the impact of evidence-based teaching initiatives on improving learning outcomes
• leaders and teachers ensure that literacy and mathematics is being progressively integrated into teaching and learning across the school and is leading to improvements in student achievement
• leaders work with the School Board to evaluate patterns in attendance and use this information to identify next steps which continue to increase regular rates of attendance.

Expected outcomes

• Consistent, school wide approaches to teaching and learning that improve student engagement.
• Improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes.
• Improved and sustained levels of regular attendance. 

The next public report on ERO’s website will be a School Report and is due within four years.

Me mahi tahi tonu tātau, kia whai oranga a tātau tamariki
Let’s continue to work together for the greater good of all children

Sharon Kelly
Director of Schools

9 October 2025