This week, a group of our learners will be sitting the national co-requisite Literacy and Numeracy exams. These assessments are part of the new NCEA requirements and are an important step in ensuring that every learner leaves school with strong reading, writing, and numeracy skills essential for success in everyday life, further learning, and work.

At Rolleston College, we’ve worked closely with staff and learners to identify who is ready to sit these exams. Not all learners are involved at this stage. We’ve identified those who have shown through classwork and assessment that they’re well prepared.

The exams are digital and set by NZQA. They will be held during week four of term two, across three days. 

Writing: 9am to midday on Tuesday 20 May (learners meet at 8:30am)

Reading: 11am to 2pm on Wednesday 21 May (learners meet at 10:30am)

Numeracy: 9am to midday on Thursday 22 May (learners meet at 8:30am)

All learners sitting exams in the auditorium and gym need to meet in the school plaza at their designated meet time for roll check and final instructions.

All learners sitting exams in Waiora space need to meet upstairs by the lift.

They will then move to their assigned exam rooms (gym, auditorium, and Waiora).

Rooming and login information has been emailed directly to learners.

To give these learners the best possible environment to sit their exams, all year 11s will be rostered home for those three days. This means that from Tuesday to Thursday, year 11s won’t be attending school as normal, but will instead be learning online through Google Classroom. Year 11 learners who are sitting the exams will only come onsite for their exam session and complete their other school work from home.

All year 9, 10, 12 and 13 learners sitting these exams will go back to their timetabled class after they have finished the assessment.

We know that assessments like these can feel stressful, so we’ve put a lot of support in place. Learners have had the chance to attend preparation sessions, practise using the digital exam platform, and work through past exam questions. They’ve also had help setting up their NZQA login and making sure their devices are ready to go.

If your child is sitting one or more of the exams, please make sure they bring

• A fully charged laptop or Chromebook 

• Their school and NZQA login details

• A calculator (for learners sitting the Numeracy exam)

• A water bottle 

• Headphones are optional. 

It’s also important that they get a good night’s sleep beforehand and eat breakfast on the day of their exam. It’s the small things that make a big difference in how well they feel on the day.

These exams are a great opportunity for learners to tick off a key part of their NCEA journey early and build confidence in their foundational skills. We’re proud of the mahi they’ve already put in, and we’re here to support them every step of the way.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with our deputy principal, Mr Ryan Wilson, at ryan.wilson@rollestoncollege.nz.