STATEMENT OF SERVICE PERFORMANCE

For the Year Ended 31 December 2022

Who are we?

On 19 February 1919, Queen Margaret College (QMC) welcomed its first 53 students. The Hon. John Aitken and The Very Rev. Dr. James Gibb, our Scottish Presbyterian founders, firmly believed in the importance of educating girls. The College was founded with the intention of giving girls a solid academic education while also developing strong moral character on a broadly religious foundation. This is reflected in our current purpose and vision:

Our purpose is to empower young women to live, learn, and lead adventurously. Our vision is to live by the light of truth.

Today, the College is part of a group of twelve Presbyterian schools. It is a boarding and day school in Wellington for Year 1 to 13 girls that also includes a co-educational Preschool.

What do we want to achieve?

The following is from the QMC Strategic Plan 2019 – 2024: Thriving in the Queen Margaret College community, out learners and leavers become:

• Confident collaborators

• Engineers of solutions

• Architects of their futures

How will we get there?

Inspired by the best of our past, our school community will shape the next legacy together by:

• Producing confident future leaders

• Lifting barriers to diversity and inclusiveness

• Challenging the status quo for sustainable futures

Five strategic pathways support the College in achieving its vision: adventurous learning; dynamic community and partnerships; our people; excellence in operations; and sustainable futures.

Strategic Pathway 1 – Adventurous learning

The College offers a diverse curriculum through a dual learning pathway that supports every student to excel: the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB Diploma). Students complete NCEA Level 1 in Year 11, then choose either the NCEA or IB Diploma pathway for Years 12 and 13.

The College believes in tailoring education for girls. That means championing their learning needs, building resilience, and supporting leadership and academic success.

“The Queen Margaret College Model for Learning is our pivotal platform for change. It puts the learners in charge of their learning and challenges educators to understand the impact they are having and to act on that understanding.” – Jayne-Ann Young, Principal.

The College’s NCEA and IB Diploma results show excellent progress towards academic success for ākonga (learners).

NCEA academic results

NCEA comprises three levels and is New Zealand’s national qualification for Year 11 to 13 students. It is a standards-based assessment with a mix of internal and external assessments.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) calculate NCEA achievement rates as a proportion of the entire cohort in a school, not just those entered for NCEA standards. This is done to discourage schools from removing students who are unlikely to achieve the standards.

QMC calculates achievement rates for Years 12 and 13 as a proportion of those students entered for NCEA and not as a proportion of the entire cohort. This is because the NZQA calculation method considers those QMC students who choose the IB Diploma pathway as having failed to achieve NCEA, which does not accurately represent the achievements of either the NCEA or the IB Diploma groups.

IB Diploma academic results

QMC is the only girls’ school in Wellington to offer the International Baccalaureate from Years 1 to 13 (IB World School). The IB Diploma is a two-year globally recognised programme that promotes international and intercultural understanding and provides an exceptional depth of knowledge

24 points are needed to be awarded the IB Diploma. The highest mark possible is 45 points. Assessment data for 2022 and 2021 is shown in the following table:

Sporting activities

Sports provide opportunities for socialising, fostering self-discipline, and enhancing both mental and physical health outside of the classroom. All students are encouraged to take part in sports during their time at QMC. The following data shows the number of sporting opportunities available across Years 1 to 13 at Queen Margaret College:

Performance measure

Cultural and Performing Arts activities

Cultural and performing arts activities are creative outlets that enhance learning and social development. The College offers many extra-curricular Cultural and Performing Arts activities, including:

• debating

• choirs

• music groups

• drama

• Te Whānau o Kuīni Mākareta (Māori and Pasifika performing arts group)

• PRISM (a student-led LGBTQIA+ group)

• QMFem (a student-led group created to explore and promote issues relating to women)

• QM Green (a student-led sustainability group)

• Film Club

Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC)

Students are encouraged to collaborate, discover new interests, and learn in novel ways through the Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) programme. Every year, students engage in outdoor activities as part of EOTC week. Other activities include The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Awards. 13 QMC students earned their Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award in 2022.

Strategic Pathway 2 – Dynamic community and partnerships

The four main groups active within the QMC community are the Board of Governors, the Old Girls’ Association (QMCOGA), the Parents’ Association (QMCPA), and the Foundation Trust (QMCFT). These groups support the College in many ways.

Board of Governors

The Board of Governors is entrusted to work for the benefit of the College. Its key roles are strategic leadership (rather than administrative detail), financial oversight, and setting the values and culture of the College. The Board has responsibility to ensure that the College complies with all legal and policy requirements. Enhancing student achievement and wellbeing is its focus. The Board consists of thirteen people:

• two Presbytery representatives

• two Queen Margaret College Old Girls’ Association representatives

• two Queen Margaret College Parents’ Association representatives

• seven independent members

The Board delegates all authority and accountability for the day-to-day operational organisation of the College to the Principal.

Queen Margaret College Old Girls’ Association (QMCOGA)

The QMCOGA has an increasing focus on supporting students currently at the College. In 2022 the QMCOGA:

• provided a back-up psychologist for a short period to support students through the impact of COVID-19

• upgraded the new deanery and health centre

• hosted an unveiling event for the Sophia Crestani Memorial art installation

• hosted the second annual Aria and Concerto Competition

• recognised daughters of old girls at a morning tea in QM House

• hosted the annual back-to-school drinks for Year 14 leavers

• sponsored prizes for the Middle School Prizegiving and Sports Awards

• sponsored the annual Spirit of Adventure scholarship prize awarded to a student in Year 12

• sponsored the bubbles at the Year 13 leavers’ function in December

Queen Margaret College Parents’ Association (QMCPA)

The QMCPA is about connecting the parent community. Their wider vision is to engage with areas of the College that can benefit from the QMCPA’s logistical ability and extensive volunteer group. In 2022 the QMCPA:

• were on hand to talk to prospective students and families at two College open mornings

• hosted a movie evening of ‘Downton Abbey – A New Era’ for over 100 people

• worked with Te Whānau o Kuīni Mākareta (Māori and Pasifika performing arts group) to provide kai lunches for students to celebrate Samoan Language Week, Matariki, and Cook Islands Language Week

• hosted a new parents’ welcome evening for more than 80 new parents

• were involved in the College’s open day where more than 600 people attended

• hosted an annual QMCPA quiz night for parents, friends, family, and other members of the QMC community

Queen Margaret College Foundation Trust (QMCFT)

The QMCFT is a dedicated group of community members including parents, staff, and Board of Governors’ members. Its purpose is to support the continued future growth and development of the College and its students. In 2022 the QMCFT:

• made a commitment to fundraising for scholarships as part of the effort to ensure as many girls as possible can attend the College

• is excited to support the library modernisation project

• hosted the annual Junior School pantomime Performance measure

Strategic Pathway 3 – Our people

The College places a strong emphasis on helping both our students and staff to grow.

Students

The Government announced in June 2022 that the national target in New Zealand schools is for 70% of ākonga (learners) to be attending school regularly by 2024. QMC attendance rates exceed this target across all year groups, as shown below: Performance measure

Notes:

1. Student roll is taken from the 1 July Ministry of Education roll returns for Year 1 to 13 students

2. Student full-day attendance rates are the cohort average attendance rates for Ministry of Education ‘present’ attendance codes. All ‘justified absence’ and ‘unjustified absence’ codes are excluded

The College offers a broad curriculum as outlined in our adventurous learning pathway to support learning. There are also two psychologists and a health centre staffed by nurses to support student wellbeing.

Staff

Our staff numbers across the College are shown below: Performance measure

Note: These figures do not include relief teachers, itinerant music tutors, sports coaches, external assessment supervisors, and volunteers who attend events and trips.

Strategic Pathway 4 – Excellence in operations

Ensuring financial stability is a priority for excellence in operations. Performance measure

The College faced challenges in 2022 from the impact of COVID-19, rising costs due to inflation, and increasing competition for student enrolments. Despite these challenges, the positive roll growth throughout 2022 placed the College in a strong position at the start of 2023. The Year 1 to 13 College roll rose from 610 on 1 February 2022 to 648 on 30 November 2022, an increase of 6.2%.

Strategic Pathway 5 – Sustainable futures

The College is working to create an enduring culture for future generations. The College's Sustainability Prefect leads the QM Green sustainability team. Students in Years 1 to 6 are challenged to take responsibility for their thoughts, deeds, and behaviour as part of their personal development. Performance measure

The creation of a QMC Sustainability Charter, underpinned by the United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals, is ongoing