Top 50 New Zealand Schools 2021

Pathways from top NZ high schools to world leading universities

Crimson Education presents the third consecutive year of the Top 50 New Zealand Schools - a list based on a review of secondary schools’ academic performance, extracurricular and leadership opportunities, equal access and students’ university pathways. This year’s list once again features a mix of private and state schools as well as single-sex and co-education schools in the top 10.

The secondary school ranking list, released by university admissions and mentoring company Crimson Education, draws on its experience in working with a global pool of top-performing students who continue to secure admission to the world’s most competitive universities year after year, including: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, UChicago, Oxford, Cambridge.

• In the 2021 ranking, private schools dominate the top 10 once more. Of the single sex schools, four are girls’ schools, one is a boys’ school and the remaining five are co-educational.
• Of the top 10 schools, seven provide international curricula options: the IB or CIE.
• St. Cuthbert’s leaps to first place with an exceptional academic performance from students.
• Pinehurst went from 5th to 2nd place, with a strong extracurricular and leadership activity profile and a 96% university entrance rate.
• Kristin, ranked #3, had 19 students secure IB 40+ scores, the most out of any other school on the list.
• Three new additions to the top 10 from last year include: Diocesan School For Girls #6, St Peter's College #9 and Rangi Ruru Girls #10.