Auckland Grammar 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 review at least once every four years to evaluate what is working well for learners and what needs to be improved.

About the school

Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for boys from Years 9 to 13. The student roll is 2783 including 45% Asian, 39% Pākehā/New Zealand European, 7% identify as Māori, 6% of Pacific heritage, 2% Middle Eastern, Latin American or African and 1% other ethnic groups. The school’s values are integrity, excellence, respect, courage, pride, commitment and humility. The school has a boarding hostel, Tibbs House.  

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 the August 2022 ERO report. It includes an explanation of the expected improvements and findings.

Expected improvements

The school expected to see sustained improvement in student progress and achievement at all levels, aligned with the targets set out in the Annual Plan. This included the strengthened and systematic use of assessment and achievement information, particularly to support targeted learners and the consistent embedding of Auckland Grammar School’s Effective Teaching Framework across both on-campus and online learning contexts.

Findings

The school has strengthened its use of achievement information by establishing Academic Dean roles and a Head of Student Achievement Monitoring position. The development of an integrated digital system consolidates key indicators to identify and monitor at-risk students and groups. This information is increasingly used to support targeted mentoring and inform learning support, pastoral responses, and professional learning, including regular discussions with department leaders and specific reporting for Māori and Pacific learners. 

The Auckland Grammar School Teaching Framework is increasingly embedded as standard practice through induction, appraisal and observation processes, and alignment with professional learning. Methods for regularly sharing new data insights with classroom teachers are still being refined.

Other findings

These developments have strengthened the school’s organisational capability to monitor progress and respond in timely, targeted ways, while sustaining high achievement at all levels.

What we know about learner success 

This section provides a summary of learner success, wellbeing and foundation school conditions, including any education in Rumaki/Reo Rua settings. The judgments are based on the ERO School Improvement Framework and evidence provided to ERO during the evaluation.

Less than a third 

Less than half 

Small majority 

Large majority 

Most 

Almost all 

0 to 33%

34 to 49%

50 to 64%

65 to 79%

80 to 90%

Over 90%

Learner success and wellbeing

This section provides a summary of learner success and wellbeing.

Outcomes for learners are excellent and sustained over time.

• Over half of students sit Cambridge International Education Advanced Level or Advanced Subsidiary Level qualifications and almost all achieve them. 
• The large majority of students sitting National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 2 achieve it, and most achieve Level 3 and University Entrance. University Scholarship achievement rates are consistently very high for boys who participate. 
• Most Year 11 students study the Auckland Grammar School Pre-Qualification programme. 
• There remains some disparity in achievement for Māori and Pacific students. The school implement a range of interventions to support improvement, and this is improving over time. 
• A small majority of students attend school regularly; leaders are focused on improving to meet the Governments targets 80% regular attendance. 

Conditions to support learner success

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

Strategic and effective leadership drives high expectations, rigour, and sustained excellence.

• Leaders set a clear, coherent strategic direction and improvement goals, aligned to annual objectives for achievement, equity, additional learning needs and attendance.
• Leaders use systematic faculty review to monitor progress, scrutinise data and strengthen teaching and learning practices over time.
• Leadership builds relational trust and effective collaboration, and attracts, retains and grows effective teaching teams through structured feedback and support, alongside a strong student leadership system.

The curriculum and teaching are highly effective, enabling strong engagement and high-quality outcomes.

• The curriculum provides broad, deep and coherent learning pathways, offering flexible national, international and vocational options that reflect student and community aspirations.
• Teaching is consistently high quality and evidence-informed, with calm, purposeful learning environments that maximise engagement and learning time.
• Assessment and tracking are used with rigour to build school-wide insight and to adapt teaching and interventions, strengthening progress and outcomes over time.

Key conditions that underpin successful schooling are strongly embedded and well-aligned.

• Leaders and teachers strengthen teaching quality through coherent professional learning, purposeful collaboration and shared responsibility for effective practice.
• Strong, reciprocal partnerships with parents, families/whānau, industry and networks extend learners’ access to coherent pathways, experiences and future opportunities.
• The Auckland Grammar School Board and leaders provide strong strategic stewardship through clear direction, effective resourcing and robust accountability for school performance.
• Systematic, schoolwide evaluation is embedded through regular review cycles that inform planning, track progress and support sustained organisational learning.

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 key priorities and actions for improvement.

Key priorities

• Strengthen equity of achievement outcomes for Māori and Pacific students.
• Establish systems to ensure consistent use of the school’s tracking system, strengthening targeted support by teachers and Deans and reviewing their effectiveness.
• Further accelerate progress in literacy for targeted students.

Actions to bring about improvement 

Within six months:

• use tracking data to identify Māori and Pacific students at risk from Year 9 and link them to targeted academic support and the school’s tuākana-teina mentoring programme 
• set clear expectations and support to ensure teachers and Deans consistently use the tracking system
• extend the schoolwide literacy programme and identify students requiring acceleration

Every six months:

• review progress data for identified students, refine support strategies, and strengthen the use of tuākana-teina relationships to respond to emerging needs
• review consistency of use and the effectiveness of targeted support informed by tracking data
• review literacy progress data for targeted students and adjust acceleration strategies in reading and writing

Annually:

• evaluate the impact of early identification, progress data, and tuākana-teina approaches on equity of achievement, and use findings to inform strategic planning and resourcing
• evaluate the impact of the tracking system on identification and support, and refine systems and roles as needed
• evaluate the impact of literacy initiatives and acceleration strategies and refine schoolwide approaches.

Expected outcomes

• Accelerated progress and greater equity for Māori and Pacific students. 
• Earlier identification of need, and more effective, coordinated support for at-risk students resulting in improved outcomes.
• Targeted students make accelerated progress in reading and writing, resulting in stronger literacy capability, increased confidence, and improved access to learning across the curriculum.

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

14 May 2026