Advice please
I’m currently a Year 12 student (equivalent to Grade 11) at a relatively small low decile secondary school in New Zealand, and I’ve been stuck on this decision for a while.
Next year I have a good chance of becoming Head Student / Deputy Head Student. It would be good experience, leadership, public speaking, organising events, all that stuff , and it would probably help for uni scholarships or general applications later on. But at the same time, it’s a pretty small school, so I keep wondering how much weight that actually carries compared to bigger schools. Like it It dosen't even have any clubs or societys. Not sure if I’m overthinking it or not.
But on the other hand… I don't really feel like I learn that well in class. I usually can't fully understand things during lessons and end up going home and teaching myself everything anyway using YouTube, AI, practice questions, etc. I feel like I understand things way better when I can learn at my own pace, which is basically how I've been learning for the last couple of years.I still manage to keep up because I reteach myself everything once I get home. It kind of made me think that if I'm already teaching myself most of the content anyway, imagine how much more I could get through if I was doing that full time instead of after school every day. That's what's made me seriously consider homeschooling for Year 13.
Because of that, I’ve started seriously considering homeschooling (through Te Kura in NZ) for Year 13 so I can fully focus on self study.
My thinking is that if I already spend so much time teaching myself after school, I could potentially get a lot more done if that was my full time focus. I want to try for NZQA Scholarship exams, and I feel like I might have a better chance of reaching a high level (possibly even Outstanding Scholarship) if I had more time and flexibility. I know it’s very competitive, but I’d like to push myself and see what I’m capable of.
My school also doesn’t really have much of an academic extension culture, which is part of why I’ve been thinking about this. If I asked next year, they might be willing to run a lunchtime Scholarship session, but I’m honestly not sure. For example, in maths this year our whole class is only sitting one external, and that applies to everyone. There isn’t much flexibility to work ahead or take on extra content, even if you’re interested. I understand the school is trying to maximise everyone’s chances of doing well, but it sometimes feels like the focus is more on achieving the standard rather than giving students opportunities to push beyond it.
On top of that, I’ve been wondering whether being Head Student at a smaller school carries the same weight as at a larger school. I know it’s still a leadership role, but there are naturally fewer students, fewer events to organise, and fewer opportunities overall. I’m not sure if universities or employers actually take school size into account, or if the role is generally viewed the same regardless.
On the other hand, I’d be giving up my final year at school, leadership opportunities, and the social side of Year 13. There’s also the risk that homeschooling doesn’t go as well as I expect.
Another thing I’ve been thinking about is university scholarships (like the University of Auckland Top Achiever-type scholarships). They often look at things like:
- leadership roles
- leadership/development programmes
- community awards
- competition achievements
If I stayed at school, I’d most likely tick the leadership role and leadership programme box as I’m attending a programme and will continue to do so next year . However, because my school is relatively small and doesn't have the same opportunities as many larger schools, I probably wouldn't have many chances to compete in major national academic competitions. Also, the uni application doesn't even ask for letters for recommendations anymore, just endorsements.
So I keep coming back to this thought… if I stay and still don’t end up getting scholarships anyway, was it worth giving up the chance to fully focus academically?On the other hand, if I homeschooled and did really well in NZQA Scholarship (like multiple Scholarships or even Outstanding), would that be seen as more valuable than leadership experience anyway?And long term , like 5–10 years from now ,do employers or postgrad programmes care more about leadership/extracurriculars, or strong academic achievement?
Yeah, I’m pretty torn.
Either:
- stay at school, take the leadership role, have a normal Year 13, keep everything balanced
- or homeschool and study through Te Kura, lose the leadership/social side, but fully maximise academic time and focus on Scholarship exams
Would genuinely appreciate any advice.