Top 50
New Zealand
Schools 2022
For Gaining Entry to Top Universities
With continued lockdowns came an
prepare students to seize the
ongoing commitment to self-learning,
opportunities on offer from top-ranked
improvement and progress throughout
universities in the US and UK.
the entire academic year. Parents looked
to offer greater stability to their children’s
What we see setting students apart is their
education amid great change, and
“T” approach to learning - showing
continued to invest in their progress -
breadth of interest across academics,
looking globally to opportunities for their
leadership and extracurricular work while
children to engage in extracurricular
applying depth to master a specific area of
activities virtually and with a long-term
competency, with personalised mentoring
goal to capitalise on building a compelling
from teachers. Take for example, robotics.
profile to stand out in the ever increasing
A student may seek to secure a medal
university admissions and job market
within a Physics Olympiad, achieve top
landscape.
grades in chemistry and in their spare
time, intern within a lab that is dedicated
Students’ commitment to intensified
to building robotic arms to improve quality
curricula continued, with many
of life for amputees.
complementing the national NCEA with
global options like the IB or A levels, or to
This raises the question, what holistic
study what many consider industry-
factors should be taken into account by
relevant subjects like computer science
parents, when reviewing high schools for
and economics. Secondly, they honed their
their children?
extracurricular skills through activities that
remain popular like global online debating
As an authority on student pathways to
or business case competitions, by building
top-ranked universities, Crimson once
their own apps, leadership projects or
again brings its deep knowledge of
participating in virtual internships.
student success from all backgrounds to
this release. We also bring extensive
These rankings, now in their fourth year,
knowledge in NCEA, CIE and IB as well as
provide a clear measure of the top 20
world-leading experience supporting
schools in New Zealand, along with the top
students on their pathway into top global
31 - 50 schools, based on their ability to
universities like the University of Oxford,
Stanford, Harvard and competitive
collectively, the IB curriculum schools
domestic programs like Medicine.
within the top 10 secured a total of 47 IB
scores of 40+ between them. We observed
While no one ranking system captures
CIE Awards were lower than seen in last
everything, we have continued to apply
year’s rankings, which could be a result of
our carefully designed methodology in
pandemic-related exam cancellations.
consideration of the characteristics that
world leading universities like Yale,
Some other schools that deserve praise
Cambridge and the like continue to seek
include ascents into the top 10 from last
out among their accepted students.
year, including: St Kentigern College,
Westlake Boys' High School, Queen
Above all, we aim to provide parents and
Margaret College and Rangitoto College.
students with transparency and clear
St Kentigern College saw its head prefect
guidance when making high stakes
secure a Te Ara a Kupe Beaton Scholarship.
decisions about which high school is right
Westlake Boys' High School moved from
for their long-term plans and aspirations.
20th to 8th place, achieving 169
scholarships, 30 outstanding scholarships
Through these rankings, school
and 4 Premier Scholarships. They also
administrators also have access to an
earned 37% NCEA Excellence. Rangitoto
independent barometer that measures
College went from 23rd to 10th place, with
how their student cohort is performing
2 IB scores of 40+ as well as 183 NCEA
across the factors that are most important
scholarships and 31 outstanding
when preparing students to apply to the
scholarships. They also earned 34% NCEA
world’s top universities.
Excellence.
Trends in our 2022 rankings I find
Our list combines more than 200 years of
interesting to highlight are, we see a wide
education experience across Crimson’s
geographic spread of the Top 20 schools -
consulting team, academic team, data
from Christchurch to Wellington, to
science capabilities and is based on a
Havelock North and Auckland. Looking to
rigorous data-collection practice. We hope
the top of the list, Kristin claims first place
it helps ignite discussion around how we
after consistently moving up the rankings
are preparing our incredibly talented
each year. This is on the back of an
young people to achieve their best.
exceptional year of academic performance
with 19 students securing an IB score of
To transformative education for the
40+. University entrance was secured by
22nd century.
96% of students.
The school leads the trend of co-education
schools emerging as the majority to make
up the top 10 this year. Private schools
continue to dominate the top 10 and of the
single-sex schools, we see three of these
are girls’ schools, one is boys’ and the
remaining six are co-educational.
JAMIE BEATON
CEO and Co-founder of
Of the top 10 schools, eight of these
Crimson Education
provide international curricula options: the
IB or CIE. Schools that provide
international curriculum fared well,
making up the top 7 of the list and
About the
Rankings
This year brings the fourth consecutive
release of the Top 50 New Zealand Schools
For Gaining Entry to Top Universities by
Crimson Education — a world-leading
university admissions and
mentoring company.
To create this year’s list, physical schools
across New Zealand were evaluated on the
basis of academic performance,
extracurricular opportunities and equal
access for students — three factors which
contribute to students’ chances of gaining
admission to and thriving at top
universities around the world.
The list draws on experience working with
a global pool of top-performing students
through Crimson Education’s university
admissions service which helps students
secure admission to the world’s most
competitive universities year after year,
including: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford,
UChicago, Duke, Oxford, and Cambridge.
NZ School
Academics
Rankings
CIE alongside IB, NCEA, NZQA results
Methodology
and University Entrance rates which
are all weighted equally. Information
In order to review school performance
accessed for the 2020 rankings
with consistency, 2020 data alone was
included the number of awards made
used, given there was an insufficient
publicly available, i.e. via websites as
amount of 2021 data released at the time
well as government reports.
of the lists’ creation. This follows the
methodology used for Crimson’s Top 50
New Zealand Schools rankings in 2020,
75%
which used solely 2019 data.
Data was sourced from a survey and from
publicly available information on school
websites. NZQA data was referenced
Diversity, Equity,
for verification.
Process
The three indicators that determine
This examined the process of enrolling
Crimson’s Top 50 New Zealand Schools
into school and processes within the
2022 are:
school to drive good outcomes.
Diversity in ethnicity was also
considered, based on our belief that
Academic Performance
students should learn within a diverse
Diversity, Equity & Process
setting, which equips them to thrive
on global campuses.
Extracurricular Activities
15%
Notes:
Extracurricular Opportunities were only
evaluated for schools that made the shortlist
based on Academic Performance and
Extracurricular
Diversity, Equity & Process.
& Leadership
The Extracurricular and Leadership criterion
This indicates whether students are
usually accounts for 15% of the ranking
being prepared for university
weighting, however with US and UK
achievement post-graduation. Options
university admissions lower due to COVID-19,
like sports, performing arts & co-
5% of this ranking was redistributed across
curricular activities as well as college
the other criterions.
admissions results were weighted
equally. Ivy League and other top US
Some schools were excluded due to their
university admissions results were
Year 13 student size being less than 20
students. This applied to schools such as
considered because US universities
Wentworth College and Auckland
take extracurricular activities into
International College.
account when admitting students.
US university admissions data was excluded
due to COVID-19.
10%
School Rankings 2022
01
Kristin School (3)
26
Hutt International Boys' School (48)
02
St Cuthbert's College (1)
27
Waikato Diocesan School For Girls (27)
03
Pinehurst School (2)
28
Lindisfarne College (26)
04
ACG Parnell College (4)
29
Sacred Heart College (Auckland) (36)
05
Diocesan School For Girls (6)
30
Epsom Girls' Grammar School (24)
06
St Kentigern College (14)
31
Wellington College (17)
07
Macleans College (5)
32
Columba College
08
Westlake Boys' High School (20)
33
Wellington Girls' College (19)
09
Queen Margaret College (12)
34
St Paul's Collegiate School (35)
10
Rangitoto College (23)
35
Dilworth School (47)
11
Woodford House (28)
36
Mount Albert Grammar School (43)
12
Christ's College (31)
37
St Hilda's Collegiate School
13
St Peter's College (Auckland) (9)
38
Rosmini College (37)
14
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School (18)
39
Napier Girls' High School (42)
15
Rangi Ruru Girls' School (10)
40
Western Springs College (38)
16
Baradene College of the Sacred Heart (8)
41
Marist College (39)
17
Carmel College (21)
42
Otago Girls' High School
18
Auckland Grammar School (11)
43
Takapuna Grammar School (41)
19
King's College (22)
44
St Peter's School (Cambridge) (34)
20
Glendowie College (32)
45
Long Bay College
21
St Andrew's College (25)
46
Iona College (40)
22
St Mary's College (Auckland) (16)
47
Selwyn College (50)
23
Westlake Girls' High School (29)
48
Sancta Maria College (46)
24
Scots College (13)
49
Hamilton Boys' High School
25
St Margaret's College (15)
50
Burnside High School
*Numbers in the parentheses () represent the 2021 ranking of each school.
Schools without numbers in parentheses did not feature in the list last year.
Trends - School
Rankings 2022
+ The top 10 is dominated by private
schools, with 7 private and 3 state
schools. Similarly, in last year’s
rankings, the top ten schools included
seven private schools, one state, and
two state-integrated schools.
+ Three of 2022’s top 10 schools are
single-sex girls’ schools, one is a
single-sex boys’ school, and the others
were co-educational.
+ The smallest school of the top 10 is #3
ranked Pinehurst, with 59 students in
Year 13.
+ All the top 30 ranked schools are
between Deciles 8-10.
+ Selwyn College and Dilworth School are
Decile 4 schools and feature in this
year’s top 50 list.
+ The number of scholarships, in general,
stayed the same nationwide in 2020
compared to 2019. However, in 2020,
fewer Premier and Outstanding scholar
awards were given out.
+ Overall role numbers dropped due to
New Zealand closing its border to
international students.
Additions to the list
+ We saw five additions to this year’s list,
including Columba College #32, St
Hilda's Collegiate School #37, Long Bay
College #45, Hamilton Boys' High School
#49 and Burnside High School #50.
Schools that improved
in the rankings
+ Kristin ranked #1, achieving a University
+ Hutt International Boys' School went
Entrance rate of 96%, NCEA excellence
from 48th to 26th place, and the
of 25% and saw the highest IB 40+
University Entrance rate jumped from
results, with 19 students securing this
81% to 92%. NCEA Excellence increased
academic result for the second year.
from 10% to 20%. They also achieved 3
outstanding scholarships and 1
Premier Scholarship.
+ There were three new additions to the
top 10: Westlake Boys' High School #8,
Queen Margaret College #9, and
+ Columba College was a new addition to
Rangitoto College #10.
the list, achieving a University Entrance
rate of 98.6% and 36% NCEA
Excellence, and also earned 3
+ Woodford House went from 28th to 11th
outstanding scholarships.
place with a University Entrance rate of
98%. They also achieved an impressive
amount of NCEA Excellence which
amounted to around 54% with 24% in
the prior year, and attained
twenty scholarships.
+ Rangitoto College went from 23rd to
10th place, with 2 IB scores of 40+. The
school also achieved 183 NCEA
scholarships and 31 outstanding
scholarships. They also earned 34%
NCEA Excellence.
+ Westlake Boys' High School went from
20th to 8th place, achieving 169
scholarships, 30 outstanding
scholarships and 4 Premier
Scholarships. They also earned 37%
NCEA Excellence.
+ Christ's College went from 31th to 12th
place, and the University Entrance rate
jumped from 79% to 91%. They
managed to achieve 29% NCEA
Excellence. Christ's College managed to
increase its number of scholarships
from 19 to 38, outstanding scholarships
from 1 to 7 and was awarded 1
Premier Scholarship.
Hear from
top-ranked
school students
I'm proud to attend St
Cuthbert's College. I feel very
lucky to be at a school that
values education in young
women so highly
Maria
- St Cuthberts
I can't thank St Kents enough
for the support and
opportunity it's given me
over the years. I feel really
grateful to have been able to
attend a school like this.
Peyton
- St Kents
Admitted to:
Princeton, Harvard,
Cornell, Dartmouth,
Duke and UPenn
