Students to choose either of these pathways at our Senior school level.
From Year 11 students can access both pathways and may choose to take a mix of CIE and NCEA courses. Students should think about their Year 9 and Year 10 subject assessments to assist them in deciding which qualification pathway will suit them best – CIE assessment is through examination, NCEA assessment is a series of internal and external standards throughout the course.
Both qualification pathways are equally valid – one is not better than the other. The key is to match your preference for assessment to the qualification path that you choose.
We encourage all our students to read through the CIE and NCEA Pathway descriptions for each subject, to take note of prerequisites for any subjects they are hoping to take in the future, and to consider the assessments and workload across all of their subjects.
Students with a mix of CIE and NCEA courses need to be aware that they must gain their University Entrance from one pathway only.
In Year 12 and 13 students make a choice between CIE and NCEA, determining the qualification they will earn in each subject. At this stage – whichever pathway students choose – they should keep in mind any prerequisites (both subjects and levels of achievement) for courses they are hoping to study at university.
At King’s College we encourage all our students to reach their highest potential and we believe providing the choice of CIE and NCEA gives us greater scope to tailor our teaching to the needs of each student and to help them to excel.
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Selecting the appropriate qualification pathway
CIE offers subjects that are content-rich. Assessment is based on examinations for each subject at the completion of the course. Students gain grades and a percentage mark for their assessment.
NCEA offers subjects that are skills and process-based. Assessment is based both on internal standards during the year and external standards at the completion of the course. Students gain credits and a description of their level of achievement for each standard within a course. Students can also gain subject and year level endorsement.
The CIE course at Year 11 – the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) – is considered the best preparation for both CIE and NCEA Year 12 courses because of the breadth of its curriculum content. This does not preclude students from entering Level 1 NCEA in Year 11.
Students may switch qualification pathways. However, the content-rich nature of CIE, makes switching from CIE to NCEA feasible but problematic when moving from NCEA to CIE.
Students attaining their University Entrance through NCEA must also meet their Numeracy Literacy requirement through NCEA. Students who switch from CIE to NCEA will therefore need to enroll in an additional Numeracy/Literacy programme.
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Split qualification pathway
Tertiary entrance is attained with a majority of your ranked points through either the CIE or NCEA pathway – we advise all our students to gain tertiary entrance through one pathway.
It is possible to enrol in a split qualification pathway, for example 4 CIE/1 NCEA or 1 CIE/4 NCEA. If students enrol in a split qualification pathway that reflects a 3/2 mix – for example 3 CIE/2 NCEA or 2 CIE/3 NCEA – students will still attain a ranked score but all students must qualify for tertiary entrance through only one qualification pathway. The College will only allow such a split in extraordinary circumstances.
International students International students entering King’s College at Year 12 or Year 13 will need to complete the Numeracy and Literacy requirements through either the CIE or NCEA pathways. Qualifications obtained overseas cannot be combined with qualifications earned through the CIE or NCEA pathways to gain University Entrance.
