Macleans College — Local services in Howick

As a student who comes to this school and writes with a genuine opinion, to whoever is reading this, especially parents, I can confirm to you that the previous 1-star reviews are absolutely baloney.

I am just a student. I am currently at Macleans college and been here for a couple of years hence sharing my general opinion. I AM NOT part of any school administration that writes the review because they are biased. Firstly I see these reviews talking about "racism". In the real life, of course its going to exist. Someone will always judge you based on the way you look. But it doesn't mean that it isn't dealt with at this school. There are serious consequences for racism so all aside, its not an issue here at Macleans. Im not a white student either, but I haven't seen 1 teacher at this school, of all I have ever talked to been racist ONCE, ever.

Secondly, I see them talking about "They only care about academics." Well its partly true. Your child deserves quality education and the school wants them to be successful in life and if you're not willing to learn or at least give a damn about learning for your own good, then don't blame the school for it. Teachers here actually do a reasonable job at shaping students into successful academics and you also have house tutoring systems and more if you find learning the stuff hard. Ungrateful students who choose to post these bad reviews simply don't realise the plentiful resources they have to become a sucessful student. Now I know that not everyone likes studying. At times, me neither, but the school offers more than academic education. It aims to support a student's goals, and also opens SO much extracurriculars and sports activities if your child is intrested in sports. The reason why I said academic focus is "partly true" is that the school is simply looking for a lot more than just academic excellence. With the wide variety of extracurriculars it also helps students develop skills and become involved with activities they enjoy in the future.

Uniform. Theres heaters in classrooms during winter and you have a sweater. Everything else very self-explanatory.

Bullying. Yes, sadly, it happens. The bullying obviously comes from students who are either stressed about their life / have something going on in their lives or they're just a prick who seeks attention. I also consider the factor that the stress often comes from the way the school runs, as its harsh academic focus and other aspects can sometimes impact the students. It is NOT easily ignored. The amount of guidance from groups like consuelling etc will support you if you are bullied, and it will also be dealt very seriously by the school. The strict rules and conservative approach actually cut the amount of bullying in this school. I have personally seen many students get stood down or even removed from the school for being stupid.

Actually, in my first few years I didn't get along with people either. I was also emotionally impacted by bullying. However, the school helped me become the person I am today through guidance and support. I wasn't an academic nor sporty person either. I hated both. But through reflection and growth I finally understood, the school was trying to help me. It never intended to harm me in any way. I completely understand the emotional impacts. But its part of growing up and becoming a teenager. I believe that if you're already to the point where you have a mental breakdown or seizure because of it, you really need to reconsider as it wouldn't help when you get to society, as expectations at work will be a lot higher. Macleans does a great job at shaping the students so that they have maturity, responsibility, empathy and more. All this, is part of high school. It strives to help your child become sucessful in life and supports their dreams e.g sports and even esports/gaming (if thats what they really want).

The “students” who are writing those 1-star reviews are the ones who either have something against this school and have the maturity of a 5-year-old or just don't care about school...

As a former student I will say if your kid is indian, south asian or even just brown. Never send them to this school. The amount of hate and racism they get is far beyond acceptable. This type of hate not only comes from other students but the school as a whole as well. Tell me why the principle and school board only pay attention to us when its Diwali. Other schools all around auckland are celebrating indians at bollywood showdown (the amount of support they get) , during indian independence days, and even during indian language week. Our indian heritage is not spoken about or even learnt about at school. Macleans only cares about the Maoris and other "relevant" ethnicities. Most Importantly the backhanded comments and insults that many indian students get from their peers and teachers is honestly so disturbing. If your child is south asian please send them to Ormistion or any other school where their culture is accepted and praised. THANK ME LATER when your child isnt begging you to...

My worst choice ever of coming to this school. Teachers pick and choose the students they do or don't like based on their ethnicity, gender, or if you ask to go to the bathroom during classes. The teachers here abuse their students putting an emotional impact on them saying things such as "you have no future ahead of you", or "you're going to get nowhere in life". The school is super strict about uniform, if you wear concealer under your eyes....they will have a hissy fit. They talk about bullying so much but just brush it off once they have to actually deal with it. Did I mention they don't let you go to the bathroom during class? So yeah, human rights are not...