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Mt Albert Grammar School
High School · State · Auckland
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Interesting lil school
Although I shared some good memories at this school with friends, the school itself is run poorly. Punishments went over the line, when someone didn’t follow the rules. Weather it was purposeful or someone forgot. The punishments went too far. For example; earrings. You are bound to forget that u have earrings in. I have a personal experience with a higher member of staff come up to me and say “do you think you’re special?” She said it without context so I had 0 clue what she was on about. “You think you’re cooler than ur friends. Take those earrings out”. Bruh there’s no need for this ‘extra’ performance that u have going on. U expect us to give u respect because ur a teacher. But from the way I was treated and many other students were treated when it came down to breaking rules, They were overly harsh. If u were perhaps nicer and more understanding of ur students, then u wouldn’t be getting this complaint. Get more councillors too!! People need it here!!! It’s not good enough. The wait list for a councillor is too long. And we shouldn’t have to wait for a long period of time to talk to someone when we are in need. Just do better bro.
Harsh punishment at assembly
Some punishments I received have been ridiculously harsh. If you talk in assembly, a staff will humiliate you in front of everyone in your year group by making you stand up and you will have to stay standing for the entire assembly.
The assemblies are always boring and have lengthy lectures so students will get restless and choose to talk because they feel like it or think no one would notice, plus when they talk, most of the time they’re not actually being rude or disruptive to the other students, it is always a brief whisper. Like what if they were trying to help the other person understand what the speaker was saying or perhaps they were just talking about what the current speaker was talking about.
The school needs to stop using this old fashioned punishment as it is very backwards. The teachers/senior managers/deans should instead speak to the offending student(s) privately after the assembly and give them a detention if necessary. To punish a student by forcing them to stand up is inappropriate and will severely embarrass them.
In our school, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the most problematic students, it was generally anyone who was talking, whispering or not following the rules. It went for every student. If you were lucky you might get a warning or signal from a teacher not to talk again or else they’ll make you stand up. But not everyone was so lucky to get a warning instead. Spending most of the assembly standing up when everyone else is sitting down you will feel self-conscious and embarrassed.
The assemblies are always boring and have lengthy lectures so students will get restless and choose to talk because they feel like it or think no one would notice, plus when they talk, most of the time they’re not actually being rude or disruptive to the other students, it is always a brief whisper. Like what if they were trying to help the other person understand what the speaker was saying or perhaps they were just talking about what the current speaker was talking about.
The school needs to stop using this old fashioned punishment as it is very backwards. The teachers/senior managers/deans should instead speak to the offending student(s) privately after the assembly and give them a detention if necessary. To punish a student by forcing them to stand up is inappropriate and will severely embarrass them.
In our school, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the most problematic students, it was generally anyone who was talking, whispering or not following the rules. It went for every student. If you were lucky you might get a warning or signal from a teacher not to talk again or else they’ll make you stand up. But not everyone was so lucky to get a warning instead. Spending most of the assembly standing up when everyone else is sitting down you will feel self-conscious and embarrassed.
Teachers are better at worrying about what we do than what we learn
There are teachers here that do too much on low pay. I get that you're passionate about your job and all but you don't need to be up our butts 24/7, especially when it isn't even that serious/deep. The teachers stress students out with things that are not even that important. The teachers are so two faced, it's very noticeable. First, they would be all so welcoming, but as soon as you make a mistake they would not let that go. They would glare at you from time to time, pick on you, and humiliate you. However, there are teachers here that I adore. I wish there were more teachers like them who actually consider how the students feel and what they think. School should be a safe place for us students, not a place that students dread. I wish school was like back in the primary days where we were happy to learn because the teachers were happy to teach us. Teachers, do better!
MAGS IS NOT A GOOD SCHOOL
mentally draining, staff are unassertive when comes to teaching, they do not follow NCEA criteria all students have to meet they’re personally needs which is ridiculous, they are all inconsiderate of students home life and life they have outside of school. They’re only answer for mental health issues is go see a school councillor as if that’s gonna solve the problem, back to back detentions for stupid reasons.
MAGS massive EGO
MAGS cares more about how you look to the public eye so they use you for money by ripping you off with some shitty quality uniform that feels uncomfortable especially when it starts to rain and makes you smell like some dog that just dived into a swamp. They are using you as a source of advertisement so they can lure more people into their fright fest of a school by brainwashing the public with their annoying propaganda and with that they never stop boasting about their non-existent "great reputation" LMAO which really is just horrid teaching skills and teachers love to hand out assessments every week. If your socks are rolled down *BOOM* you just got a detention and if you grow a slight beard *BAM* you just got another 18 detentions. My muslim friend was growing a beard because it was a part of his religion to not cut off his beard and the teacher didn't care and kept talking about it and eventually she stopped the argument by not even figuring out that she just started some pointless argument for no reason. My friends were served raw and chicken that was not cooked properly by from the food truck and got food poisoning for some days, complained to the dean to no resolve. Theres pee on the floor all the time especially in the mens bathrooms on the top part of the MAGS entrance and shaved hair all over the floor which is absolutely disgusting. Everyday I come home my parents are annoyed at me because the teacher messaged them despite the entire fact that my teacher can't teach at all and she never uploads extra examples or information to google classroom and most of the time she ignores my questions and wonders why I do so bad in her class. This school has ruined a lot of my teen years and ever since I moved back to New Zealand the only emotion I HAVE FELT WAS DESPAIR AND DEPRESSION and I'm stuck in a never ending loop and forgot what such a good life I had back in Europe. Now I just got pulled back into some hell hole that won't let me get out because my parents are mad if I do and I am planning to move back by myself. Please for your own sake and your own sanity, if you are planning to go to mags, turn back before its too late and this is my warning to you. I have not learned a single life lesson from this school and nothing important to what I do outside of school.
current student
mags is actual shit, uniform sucks fr & tbh cs bathrooms are everyone’s hoon break meet up spot so don’t use those toilets if you actually need to take a shit or a piss. (Girls cs bathroom anyways) so many people bruh not even funny 💀💀. tbh it’s like a wannabe private school anyways yeah it’s a shit school.
HORRIBLE
I personally being going here.
They spend all there money on the wrong things, they spent like 800 THOUSAND dollars on a SECOND lounge for the teachers (MEN ONLY)
instead of actually putting money towards the fact that there are rooms with carpets a hundred years old with holes, no heaters and could be considered to look abandand.
The teachers care more about our uniforms than the actual mental health of the students, they remove any ACTUAL good things with the school that provides comfort like the ability to use devices at lunch of get food from the tuck shop, they give the students only FIVE minutes to get to their class otherwise they will get a detention, if you are leading a club and miss your detention they will take you to their office and call you a unreliable student and they always force us to be grateful because they think it should be an honour to be at this school. The chairs in the hall make your back hurt and during the assemblies you are not allowed to go bathroom. Lots of the time if a student is being attacked they will do NOTHING about it.
They spend all there money on the wrong things, they spent like 800 THOUSAND dollars on a SECOND lounge for the teachers (MEN ONLY)
instead of actually putting money towards the fact that there are rooms with carpets a hundred years old with holes, no heaters and could be considered to look abandand.
The teachers care more about our uniforms than the actual mental health of the students, they remove any ACTUAL good things with the school that provides comfort like the ability to use devices at lunch of get food from the tuck shop, they give the students only FIVE minutes to get to their class otherwise they will get a detention, if you are leading a club and miss your detention they will take you to their office and call you a unreliable student and they always force us to be grateful because they think it should be an honour to be at this school. The chairs in the hall make your back hurt and during the assemblies you are not allowed to go bathroom. Lots of the time if a student is being attacked they will do NOTHING about it.
Uniform rules are ridiculous
They care more about uniforms than bullying
Pretty good school.
This school is alright some of the teachers are nice but some just look mad all the time. The school uniform rules are very strict because you need to tuck your shirt in if your a boy and if you don't you get a detention. All the activities and groups are fun and there are lots of things going on at a time. The school is way too populated and there isn't much to do there except for walking around and talking to friends. I think the assemblies in the mornings for year 9 boys are pointless, otherwise from that I think it's a great school and I do recommend.
Good teachers, bad principles
Most teachers are nice. Upper management is garbage. Lots of rules are dumb.
Review: Essay form💁♀️
I believe mags is a bad school to attend because of the rules, environment and system.
UNIFORM
It’s honestly mad how strict the school is on uniform. The only self-identity you’ll have in the uniform is physical appearance. Earrings of any kind (except dramatic earrings like dangley, hoop, big ect(and colours also. Like gold and silver only is reasonable) should be accepted. Nobody looks at peoples earrings and the world isn’t gonna end if it’s not a gold or silver studs. Necklaces, some necklaces are sentimental. I understand not having it openly shown but even if the smallest amount of the necklace is shown, teachers flip out like it’s a weapon. If it’s MOSTLY hidden than it should be fine. The shoes/sandals rules for boys is understandable. It looks weird if you wear sanders with pants and shoes with shorts. But for the girls, it really looks nice either way. I don’t think it should matter whether they wear sandals or shoes. The skirts itself, both short and long skirts look great on all years. It should be an option for everyone. Not just for people who have tattoos, religious reasons, year 13’s. Jackets and scarves in class, I agree it shouldn’t be on in summer especially if it’s cold. But in winter, it should be allowed bc it’s winter and it’s cold and the air conditioner isn’t enough. We get punished for wanting to stay warm?
PUNISHMENTS/DETENTIONS/RULES
Before the rule change, it was if you get late TO school 3 times in a TERM you get an afterschool detention. This was EXTREMELY REASONABLE. Especially for those who live far and don’t always make it on time. Now it’s if your late you get a lunch detention. This puts more people in detentions for reasons they couldn’t control. Late to class, depends on the teacher whether you get a detention or not but this I don’t have a problem with unless you have to get to class from across the school. If you talk in assemblies, if they can’t pinpoint who did they will give a warning in the general area. If they can identify who did it, they will humiliate those involve. Even the person who didn’t talk it was being spoken to, which is unfair. Like what if they were trying to help the other person understand what the speaker was saying. They should get talked to after the assembly on the situation and MAKE THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE ‘CRIME’. Almost everything is rewarded with detentions. In most classes your not even allowed to drink from a water bottle. It’s like a prison, having to sign a sheet when you need to go to the bathroom, recording your time. Only being allowed in 2nd and 4th period but also being told to wait til break. It’s just terrible system they have going, but who cares about the students right? They punish everyone because of a few people. They think everything we do should be perfect or exceed expectations. Like singing in assembly, not everyone has had a great week or wants to sing. They expect NO mistakes from seniors because they’ve had ‘2 years to know this’ as if mistakes are not inevitable. Before we were allowed on our phones during break and sometimes class. But now it’s a no-phone zone🙅♀️. If you’re having troubles during break, can’t use your phone to call a trusted person or friend to meet up with. It’s not like the school it gonna call because they would need a reason and if they gave you a reason they will send you to the councillors office. Having no phones at school is unreasonable and unrealistic. Students will use them one way or another. The school just keeps finding ways to punish people. And back to the bathrooms thing. Some people get anxious in class, like me. Since the rule of signing the sheet, I’ve just walked out of class. Because if you take too long ‘in the bathroom’ than teachers get suspicious and send you to the deans/get a detention. I go for like 10-15 minutes before I back to class. Your only allowed like 5 minutes max to go to the bathroom so if your taking a dump, gotta do it quick.
Awareness
The school thinks they know everything but they don’t. Students rarely snitch because everyone knows to mind their own business. The school thinks it’s their system working when really people are just sneaky. I’ve seen many people vape in the bathrooms, outside of class, I’ve even seen students vape IN class. A room with a teacher present. How bold is that? I’ve seen students steal matches and light things on fire on school grounds. One even put a live match in a class paper bin, luckily the fire went out before anything caught on. I’ve heard and seen videos of students getting it on and around school grounds. I believe 5 students last year or the year before off themselves. They only talked about 1 because how would it look to the students and parents if there was 5. In year 9, I’ve heard from students of the school, not the school itself, that multiple students were sa’d or in a sort of conflict on the boardwalk by the school. 1 student went to juvi for aggravated assault. Teachers safe racist and sexiest towards students and when they get called out, the students get the punishment. Teachers always plays favourites. Seniors get to leave at lunch and period 5, unless you know them, juniors sneak out and come back just in time for period 5. They look like seniors and a bunch of them walking, can’t even tell the difference. It’s honestly funny. There has also been fights after school near the trainstation.
SPACE/RENOVATION
Current there is a new building being built. It took ALOT of space from the students. Once the buildings finish and more students enter the school. There will be LESS space for everyone. They also took down the stands that faced the gym, and the chairs that were there too which would’ve gave students more space to sit down. The school is obsessed with getting more money, the new building proves it. It’s a bad school already and the money should be aimed at other things like the pe equipment, food equipment, science equipment, fund trips ect. But no the school wants more students so they can have more money from uniform, fees ect. Wouldn’t be surprised if they added another story to the boys house.
TUCKSHOP
Ever since the tuck shop closed down, students had to buy their lunch elsewhere. Which is understandable but they knew the construction was going to take place so why not have a replacement ready. Now(a year later) they have it in a truck at the prices are outrageous. They cost way more than it was and I understand because if inflation (floods and hurricane) but gotta understand the students have gone through it too.
ENVIRONMENT
Honestly the environment is alright if your in the right crowd. But sometimes it ain’t. I’ve heard MULTIPLE stories on sexist, homophobic, racist, pervy ect teachers in the school. Last week, a girl(year 11-12) I saw was in the back of a truck. In the drivers seat with the window down was a man who looks like 20’s not younger than 19 or older than 23. Me and my friends PERSONALLY witness them making out. We stared in confusion. Don’t know what to make of it or whether to tell. The guy then started recording us but we still didn’t do anything. Of course there are some teachers who are amazing and really helpful but I don’t know if they overpower the opposite. The students are alright, everyone sticks to their groups and if you don’t find friends quickly, you might not make any at all. Smart or athletic students are highly praised while the rest are mostly ignored. If your not smart, athletic, a trouble maker, part of any of these groups, your basically unknown to any of the staff.
All these reasons are just off the top of my head. Writing this for like 30 minutes is more than I’ve wrote for my internal that I’ve worked on for 3 hours. But this is my review on the school. If I wasn’t clear, I don’t like it. At all. But my friends and a few others have made it bearable. I don’t recommend this school, you’re better off somewhere else.
UNIFORM
It’s honestly mad how strict the school is on uniform. The only self-identity you’ll have in the uniform is physical appearance. Earrings of any kind (except dramatic earrings like dangley, hoop, big ect(and colours also. Like gold and silver only is reasonable) should be accepted. Nobody looks at peoples earrings and the world isn’t gonna end if it’s not a gold or silver studs. Necklaces, some necklaces are sentimental. I understand not having it openly shown but even if the smallest amount of the necklace is shown, teachers flip out like it’s a weapon. If it’s MOSTLY hidden than it should be fine. The shoes/sandals rules for boys is understandable. It looks weird if you wear sanders with pants and shoes with shorts. But for the girls, it really looks nice either way. I don’t think it should matter whether they wear sandals or shoes. The skirts itself, both short and long skirts look great on all years. It should be an option for everyone. Not just for people who have tattoos, religious reasons, year 13’s. Jackets and scarves in class, I agree it shouldn’t be on in summer especially if it’s cold. But in winter, it should be allowed bc it’s winter and it’s cold and the air conditioner isn’t enough. We get punished for wanting to stay warm?
PUNISHMENTS/DETENTIONS/RULES
Before the rule change, it was if you get late TO school 3 times in a TERM you get an afterschool detention. This was EXTREMELY REASONABLE. Especially for those who live far and don’t always make it on time. Now it’s if your late you get a lunch detention. This puts more people in detentions for reasons they couldn’t control. Late to class, depends on the teacher whether you get a detention or not but this I don’t have a problem with unless you have to get to class from across the school. If you talk in assemblies, if they can’t pinpoint who did they will give a warning in the general area. If they can identify who did it, they will humiliate those involve. Even the person who didn’t talk it was being spoken to, which is unfair. Like what if they were trying to help the other person understand what the speaker was saying. They should get talked to after the assembly on the situation and MAKE THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE ‘CRIME’. Almost everything is rewarded with detentions. In most classes your not even allowed to drink from a water bottle. It’s like a prison, having to sign a sheet when you need to go to the bathroom, recording your time. Only being allowed in 2nd and 4th period but also being told to wait til break. It’s just terrible system they have going, but who cares about the students right? They punish everyone because of a few people. They think everything we do should be perfect or exceed expectations. Like singing in assembly, not everyone has had a great week or wants to sing. They expect NO mistakes from seniors because they’ve had ‘2 years to know this’ as if mistakes are not inevitable. Before we were allowed on our phones during break and sometimes class. But now it’s a no-phone zone🙅♀️. If you’re having troubles during break, can’t use your phone to call a trusted person or friend to meet up with. It’s not like the school it gonna call because they would need a reason and if they gave you a reason they will send you to the councillors office. Having no phones at school is unreasonable and unrealistic. Students will use them one way or another. The school just keeps finding ways to punish people. And back to the bathrooms thing. Some people get anxious in class, like me. Since the rule of signing the sheet, I’ve just walked out of class. Because if you take too long ‘in the bathroom’ than teachers get suspicious and send you to the deans/get a detention. I go for like 10-15 minutes before I back to class. Your only allowed like 5 minutes max to go to the bathroom so if your taking a dump, gotta do it quick.
Awareness
The school thinks they know everything but they don’t. Students rarely snitch because everyone knows to mind their own business. The school thinks it’s their system working when really people are just sneaky. I’ve seen many people vape in the bathrooms, outside of class, I’ve even seen students vape IN class. A room with a teacher present. How bold is that? I’ve seen students steal matches and light things on fire on school grounds. One even put a live match in a class paper bin, luckily the fire went out before anything caught on. I’ve heard and seen videos of students getting it on and around school grounds. I believe 5 students last year or the year before off themselves. They only talked about 1 because how would it look to the students and parents if there was 5. In year 9, I’ve heard from students of the school, not the school itself, that multiple students were sa’d or in a sort of conflict on the boardwalk by the school. 1 student went to juvi for aggravated assault. Teachers safe racist and sexiest towards students and when they get called out, the students get the punishment. Teachers always plays favourites. Seniors get to leave at lunch and period 5, unless you know them, juniors sneak out and come back just in time for period 5. They look like seniors and a bunch of them walking, can’t even tell the difference. It’s honestly funny. There has also been fights after school near the trainstation.
SPACE/RENOVATION
Current there is a new building being built. It took ALOT of space from the students. Once the buildings finish and more students enter the school. There will be LESS space for everyone. They also took down the stands that faced the gym, and the chairs that were there too which would’ve gave students more space to sit down. The school is obsessed with getting more money, the new building proves it. It’s a bad school already and the money should be aimed at other things like the pe equipment, food equipment, science equipment, fund trips ect. But no the school wants more students so they can have more money from uniform, fees ect. Wouldn’t be surprised if they added another story to the boys house.
TUCKSHOP
Ever since the tuck shop closed down, students had to buy their lunch elsewhere. Which is understandable but they knew the construction was going to take place so why not have a replacement ready. Now(a year later) they have it in a truck at the prices are outrageous. They cost way more than it was and I understand because if inflation (floods and hurricane) but gotta understand the students have gone through it too.
ENVIRONMENT
Honestly the environment is alright if your in the right crowd. But sometimes it ain’t. I’ve heard MULTIPLE stories on sexist, homophobic, racist, pervy ect teachers in the school. Last week, a girl(year 11-12) I saw was in the back of a truck. In the drivers seat with the window down was a man who looks like 20’s not younger than 19 or older than 23. Me and my friends PERSONALLY witness them making out. We stared in confusion. Don’t know what to make of it or whether to tell. The guy then started recording us but we still didn’t do anything. Of course there are some teachers who are amazing and really helpful but I don’t know if they overpower the opposite. The students are alright, everyone sticks to their groups and if you don’t find friends quickly, you might not make any at all. Smart or athletic students are highly praised while the rest are mostly ignored. If your not smart, athletic, a trouble maker, part of any of these groups, your basically unknown to any of the staff.
All these reasons are just off the top of my head. Writing this for like 30 minutes is more than I’ve wrote for my internal that I’ve worked on for 3 hours. But this is my review on the school. If I wasn’t clear, I don’t like it. At all. But my friends and a few others have made it bearable. I don’t recommend this school, you’re better off somewhere else.
Care too much about sports and tradition, not enough about Bullying
I didn't like the school while I was there. They only care about their reputation, old traditions, sports and uniforms. Everything is centered around that. No individuality, there isn't much effort put into hiring counsellors (the counsellors are GREAT, but it took me AGES to get one!)
Their uniform rules. First of all, the uniform is expensive. You have to get the right $40 socks, and if you wear plain white socks (if you're a girl) you get a detention. MAGS cares more about uniform than bullying.
My mum complained to the Dean that I was getting bullied and the Dean didn't do anything, until a few months later, another girl in my class said she was getting bullied. She wasn't getting bullied as bad as me but the Dean cared more about her than me for some reason! About HALF OUR CLASS left the class because it was really bad!
More about uniforms.... boys can't wear earrings, that's stupid. They can't have their socks rolled down, also stupid. I also cut my hair and it was AT MY SHOULDERS and I got yelled at by the associate principal. That wouldn't have gotten caught in any machines. I wasn't even using machines. If you're in English class, for instance, the hair isn't in danger. I understand that hair should be tied up during Science and Tech but not in Math!!
Tradition, tradition, tradition. No new improvements? Why did the school put so much money into printing super thick books about traditions and gave one to each student? Most people threw them away, I know that first hand. Why not put some money into making sure students are happy instead of carrying on old traditions, such as having a different uniform for girls than for boys. What about transgender kids. Some people get really unhappy if they're transgender and have to wear their birth sex's uniform. Also one of my friends got switched classes for no reason without his permission. Why,why,why?
ALSO, we are forced to eat outside in the winter, even when it's 6 degrees and the ground is wet.There is no cafeteria, or lunchroom or anything. We're not permitted to eat in classrooms or hallways. Instead we have to eat on the cold cement, while there's icy wind. It's not pleasant, you know.
We've also had to give up our LUNCHTIMES for sports things. I don't like sports, okay. Not everyone likes sports, and during lunch we'd rather talk with our friends, actually eat our lunch, or read in the library. People who like sport can do it at lunch if they want but don't force us ALL to give up our hour of free time for some stupid interform stuff. Why doesn't MAGS care a fifth as much about the Arts?
Bullying is neglected. I was bullied for half the year, my mum complained to the Dean as I said earlier and she didn't do much. I hear kids say homophobic and racist words almost every day. During November last year, allegedly some house boys were doing a "No-N word-November" with disgusting consequences and all failed. MAGS should take higher prevention measures because racism and homophobia are harmful!
In conclusion, I think MAGS could be way better if the staff cared just an iota less about uniforms and traditions and paid more attention to the wellbeing of students.
Their uniform rules. First of all, the uniform is expensive. You have to get the right $40 socks, and if you wear plain white socks (if you're a girl) you get a detention. MAGS cares more about uniform than bullying.
My mum complained to the Dean that I was getting bullied and the Dean didn't do anything, until a few months later, another girl in my class said she was getting bullied. She wasn't getting bullied as bad as me but the Dean cared more about her than me for some reason! About HALF OUR CLASS left the class because it was really bad!
More about uniforms.... boys can't wear earrings, that's stupid. They can't have their socks rolled down, also stupid. I also cut my hair and it was AT MY SHOULDERS and I got yelled at by the associate principal. That wouldn't have gotten caught in any machines. I wasn't even using machines. If you're in English class, for instance, the hair isn't in danger. I understand that hair should be tied up during Science and Tech but not in Math!!
Tradition, tradition, tradition. No new improvements? Why did the school put so much money into printing super thick books about traditions and gave one to each student? Most people threw them away, I know that first hand. Why not put some money into making sure students are happy instead of carrying on old traditions, such as having a different uniform for girls than for boys. What about transgender kids. Some people get really unhappy if they're transgender and have to wear their birth sex's uniform. Also one of my friends got switched classes for no reason without his permission. Why,why,why?
ALSO, we are forced to eat outside in the winter, even when it's 6 degrees and the ground is wet.There is no cafeteria, or lunchroom or anything. We're not permitted to eat in classrooms or hallways. Instead we have to eat on the cold cement, while there's icy wind. It's not pleasant, you know.
We've also had to give up our LUNCHTIMES for sports things. I don't like sports, okay. Not everyone likes sports, and during lunch we'd rather talk with our friends, actually eat our lunch, or read in the library. People who like sport can do it at lunch if they want but don't force us ALL to give up our hour of free time for some stupid interform stuff. Why doesn't MAGS care a fifth as much about the Arts?
Bullying is neglected. I was bullied for half the year, my mum complained to the Dean as I said earlier and she didn't do much. I hear kids say homophobic and racist words almost every day. During November last year, allegedly some house boys were doing a "No-N word-November" with disgusting consequences and all failed. MAGS should take higher prevention measures because racism and homophobia are harmful!
In conclusion, I think MAGS could be way better if the staff cared just an iota less about uniforms and traditions and paid more attention to the wellbeing of students.
awful
terrible school for any queer or neurodiverse students. bullying is handled horrendously bad by staff
Trauma
Got bullied, was struggling a lot with my mental health and received little to none adequate support. School counselor were awful one of them said that I didn’t have any real problems when I was severely suicidal. She said she would follow up with me and never did.
Bad school
Life at this school is hell, lots of rules. No self expression, please be nice to your child and send them to an expressive school that will help them grow and feel accepted. Lots of unfair teachers and racism. There has been multiple counts of racism by teachers and students. Really not a good look for the school. Also lots of xenophobia and homophobia, school is overall filled with hate and not much joy
Overhyped
Mags is a bad school. They make great efforts to seem prestigious with their ancient half that they spend a few thousand each year repainting the names of prefects in gold and all that but to actually be a student in the mags environment is not so prestigious or mentally healthy. So many fellow students in that school suffer from depression, not to mention someone passing away due to poor mental health last year. The class rooms are sad, especially n block. That whole area is made out of pre fabs they never removed. The aesthetic of the entire school is dull but they make sure to groom their $1000000 field all the time and only a select few are ever allowed on it. That was a nit pick but it’s things like that which happen all the time. The toilets are horrid, there is almost no room at intervals because of their huge population, good luck finding anywhere to sit. There are some good staff there and they should be mentioned here but there are also a lot of bad ones. I’ve seen first hand some over the top feminist teachers discriminate against boys around the school and I’m sick of it. Yeah there are worse school but this one isn’t anything special. This school is purely about looking prestigious. Huge rant but there’s a huge amount of issues at this school.
Student Review
Compared to other Auckland schools, MAGS is a fairly good school - however there are multiple things they could improve on.
Limitation and Education
This school claims to be about individuality but honestly, they prove they don't care. "We support gender equality!" Proceeds to create gendered uniforms and cracks down on female ones more. "We support mental health!" Proceeds to put students in the same boring cycle for 5 years with the occasional sports thing. "We have interesting subjects!" Proceeds to prioritize sports overall and neglect certain subjects. "You're going to experience stress, its high-school!" Proceeds to make kids run halfway across the school only to be late to their classes and get DT's. You aren't a person, you're one of many students who need to fit into your category if you stray from the normal, DT.
Dissatisfied and wishing for better.
I have attended this school for three years now, and find it to be overwhelmingly average. If you are not involved in sports and activities organised by the school, you are pretty much ignored. Students who excel in mathematics are highly praised; I have yet to see much recognition for students who achieve highly in English based subjects. I have only had one teacher that I felt was unjustly cruel or disrespectful, and many of my other teachers have been kind, helpful, and interested in my learning. Honestly, if I didn't have friends at the school I would most likely be applying to another for my remaining years. When it rains, there is little to no shelter but lunchtimes are shortened. My friends and I have had to sit on the ground for most of our time at the school.
Current student at mags
Mags isn’t a good school. They care more about the unifrom you wear than yourself. They only celebrate and care for the high achievers rather than helping the ones struggling. Teachers do not teach everything we need to know and expect us to just learn in a day. They constantly pick on certain friend groups that sit in certain places because of race and the looks of them. Mags is an unfair school which goes by old school rules that no longer are a good thing. Old school rules will not help our students and everyone you ask at mags can agree when I say we are not happy here. They do not make us feel appreciated, nor do they care about mental health and our wellbeing. Seriously mags, fix your system.
MAGS
This school sucks
This is one of the worst schools i’ve ever attended. my mental health has plummeted ever since i’ve been here and the staff couldn’t care less. they care only about high achieving students and don’t give as shit about the rest of us. the uniform rules are out dated and sexist and some of them are just stupid. i learned more in real life than i have in a class room due to poor teaching skills and horrible disobedience consequences that shouldn’t even exist some of them are just embarrassing and mags really needs to step up their game. and don’t get me started on the students and a WOC i’ve had countless slurs thrown around by pakeha and the school couldn’t care less. if you want your child to suffer from mental illness and literal trauma send them here. xx
Ummmm?
There are literally security cameras in the bathrooms.
Also, the only things that the school cares about is their reputation, sporty people, or ludicrously talented academic people. Seems unfair, right? They expect you to be a part of every school option, and lecture you if you choose not to.
Majority of the teachers are rather rude, over patronising, straight up horrible, or creepy. There are the occasional good teachers but that’s rare.
Some of the nicest staff members are the office ladies.
Overall, you dread waking up in the morning or going to sleep on a Sunday. Not a good look.
Also, the only things that the school cares about is their reputation, sporty people, or ludicrously talented academic people. Seems unfair, right? They expect you to be a part of every school option, and lecture you if you choose not to.
Majority of the teachers are rather rude, over patronising, straight up horrible, or creepy. There are the occasional good teachers but that’s rare.
Some of the nicest staff members are the office ladies.
Overall, you dread waking up in the morning or going to sleep on a Sunday. Not a good look.
It’s not as good as people say it is
The school is still stuck in the past with it’s stuck up senior management.Teachers are not that great at teaching there subjects most of them make it harder for you to understand wtf there trying to teach in class.The school isn’t that diversed majority of the school is pakeha/white with a small percentage of Pacific Islander and other ethnicity’s.Ths punishments in this school is A joke and unfair.They try to hard to act like A rich private school which just makes me laugh all together if you wanna experience hell come here for the ride of your life…
Snowflakes
Some of yous writing reviews are such snowflakes and liars capping for no reason and getting in trouble in assembly is your fault why you talking in the first place bro 💀💀💀💀
Too old fashioned
Ive been here for 4 years and for the most part it’s a really strict school that many of us are unhappy at. In terms of education quality it’s good if you’re lucky to have a good teacher, however the MAGS punishment tactics given by the senior leadership team and teachers are too unfair. If students were talking in assembly they will be told to stand up. This can seriously take a toll on some students and put them in a mood for the rest of the day/week. Embarrassing a student in a setting like this is absolutely not a good way to handle the situation. One of the most unfair punishments I’ve seen here at MAGS. x
THE NEW ALCATRAZ
MAGS is a hell hole for learning, the teachers are mostly shit at teaching and half of them and sometimes I can't even leave school while suffering a migraine. The hygiene of the bathrooms are actual dog water and theres piss all over the stalls and floors. I CAN'T EVEN DRINK WATER INSIDE MOST OF MY CLASSROOMS. The homework is also too overkill and mostly requires you to complete it in within one or two days which kills my brain cells.
THE NEW ALCATRAZ
bro some random ass dude could walk right through the front gates ass naked and no one caring, this school has absolutely ZERO security personnel.
MAGS dont care
bro why mags care bout the uniform more than the students wearing them.
Bad school system
I don’t think this is good school, I blame on the school’s system, sorry
School system’s fault
I consider it is a bad school, students can’t even do the basic skills. I blame on the whole school system.
Showing 30 of total 40 reviews
36 Alberton Ave, 1025, Auckland
Patrick Drumm
09 846 2044
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