Samuel Marsden Collegiate School

Beautiful green campus, empowering traditions and fantastic old girls network.

I think what the school needs is a really big upgrade, all the competitor schools around the area are always getting renovations and interior work done (annually) on the facilities in order to promote an uplifting learning environment. However, Marsden is slowly getting stuck in the 1800s with poor facilities, even some public schools have better facilities than Marsden (such as cafeteria, locker bays, classrooms, toilets etc). Also, the new NCEA+ curriculum introduced recently is a waste of time because it took so much of my time that could have been spent elsewhere on subjects that actually matter, it said it would teach me 21st century skills but I completed NCEA+ worse off than when I started. The school also has a very vibrant culture with lots of traditions that they try to uphold which is good, some of the area is nice like the reception and icentre and gym. I appreciate that they are trying to prioritise sports and especially performing arts. Some of the teachers are also really good because they know everyone's names and generally most of the students are really friendly. However I find that some of the teachers are way too controlling and try to get involved in students' personal lives or make comments about students' appearances. Also everyone is really rich there.

It’s not bad but I don’t think it’s worth the money you will have to spend on it. Try to get a scholarship because they like to hand those out. School focuses a lot on excellence and creates a competitive environment which can negatively affect and impact some students. Does not deal well with students that require different learning styles. The girls are for the most part very supportive of each other and it creates a comfortable and safe environment but this unfortunately isolates them from the very diverse real world that they live in.

Felt more focused on excellence and producing successful graceful girls, than it did on students wellbeing, which suffered greatly for it, which even in saying that is a vast understatement. Mental health was talked about but often as a ‘hurdle’ to overcome so that one can achieve good grades for school.