New Zealand / Education

NCEA results revealed

20:59 pm on 17 January 2017

Students are flocking to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website as exam results for 159,000 students become available.

A 15-year-old from Wellington checking his NCEA level 1 results. Photo: Supplied

Since results went online at 7am, students had been logging in at the rate of 20,000 an hour, the NZQA said.

By 11.30am, more than 57,000 had looked up their results.

The authority said there were no issues with access to the website, despite a screen telling users the site was experiencing "a heavy load".

It said anyone getting the message could refresh and get into the site straight away.

Some got this message when they tried to get their exam results online. Photo: SCREENSHOT

The NZQA call centre on 0800 697 296 will be open from 8am to 8pm today to help anyone having trouble accessing their information, and 8am to 5pm on other weekdays.

The authority said students unhappy with their results could request a review to make sure all of their exam booklet or portfolio had been marked and the results correctly recorded.

Alternatively, they could pay for re-marking. The cost of $20.40 per remarked standard would be refunded if the process led to a change in grade.

Scholarship exam results are expected to be available on 8 February.

'When I left school, I thought I would never go back.'

Yvonne Bay, 18, has just completed NCEA Level 2 at Auckland Girls' Grammar school Photo: RNZ / Eva Corlett

Auckland Girls Grammar student Yvonne Bay today discovered she had passed all her Level 2 NCEA subjects - a feat she never thought she would achieve.

Yvonne dropped out of school in Otahuhu aged 13, after her father's death, and began alternative education.

After taking part in Ngā Rangitahi Toa, a creative arts programme for young people excluded from school, and moving in with foster parents, she decided to return to Year 12 mainstream education.

Yvonne, who is now 18-years-old, had never taken exams and been out of school for two years.

"When I left school, I thought I would never go back. I thought I would stay home."

"It's a really big thing," she said. "My real mum is really happy, she never thought I would finish off what I started."

Yvonne passed Maths, English, Sports Science, Social Science, Photography and Drama.

"I was really nervous, I'm really surprised I passed everything."

But despite the nerves, she said she knew she had tried her best and studied hard - including staying up long into the night.

She is ready for a strong year at her new high school in Albany and is looking to pursue a teaching degree at university next year, she said.