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ACG Parnell College
Combined · Independent · Auckland
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Mismanaged
We had to recently move our two kids due to mismanagement and high handed communication. I would recommend staying away from this school and affiliates
School ignores struggling kids / parents
My son is neurodivergent, so after enrolling him there I requested a phone call with an ACG staff member to discuss how he would transition into the school.
I was directed to a senior team member who just...didn't call. Only when I emailed and phoned the school several times did she ring me back; but it was obvious she was uninterested in speaking with me.
As this was a red flag I reached out to personal contacts who knew more about ACG than me - parents, current teaching staff, and other people in the education industry. The main feedback was that ACG Parnell is a great school if your child is already academically advanced, the type of kid who would excel in any school. Everyone else is treated as background extras. If your child has any issues that would put school achievement stats at risk, they are likely to be ignored.
Their senior school roll size is smaller than junior/middle school. I heard this was because a lot of parents were unhappy and pulled their kids out part way through high school. At this point I still wanted to give the school the benefit of the doubt and reached out to a more senior staff member. My emails went ignored.
I have since cancelled my child's enrolment at this school. If two very senior members of the school can't even be bothered to reply to a parent's email, this pretty much confirms everyone else's negative feedback. I add that I have since reached out to the deputy principal of another much larger school with less resources than ACG, and the DP phoned me back the same day with lots of information and support for my child.
I was directed to a senior team member who just...didn't call. Only when I emailed and phoned the school several times did she ring me back; but it was obvious she was uninterested in speaking with me.
As this was a red flag I reached out to personal contacts who knew more about ACG than me - parents, current teaching staff, and other people in the education industry. The main feedback was that ACG Parnell is a great school if your child is already academically advanced, the type of kid who would excel in any school. Everyone else is treated as background extras. If your child has any issues that would put school achievement stats at risk, they are likely to be ignored.
Their senior school roll size is smaller than junior/middle school. I heard this was because a lot of parents were unhappy and pulled their kids out part way through high school. At this point I still wanted to give the school the benefit of the doubt and reached out to a more senior staff member. My emails went ignored.
I have since cancelled my child's enrolment at this school. If two very senior members of the school can't even be bothered to reply to a parent's email, this pretty much confirms everyone else's negative feedback. I add that I have since reached out to the deputy principal of another much larger school with less resources than ACG, and the DP phoned me back the same day with lots of information and support for my child.
Acg parnell
From the very first time you step inside this school you are filled with the idea you have to be perfect.One step out of line and you are canned this could be for fighting or even something as small as talking to loud. I was canned on the bum with my pants pulled down for trying to get my pens off a bully.Another bad part of my experience at Acg Parnell college was the fact they have no rugby team or almost any sport team they are all Chinese sports such as badminton and ping pong.They hate fitness and are a bunch of lazy students.The only enjoyable part of this school was going to heat up my pie in the microwave at lunch.
acg is pooy
had a fat teacher called miss overton yelled at me and made me cry when i took a shit on her desk because she wouldn't let me go to the lav and the dean made me clean it with my tounge was sick for weeks
ENGLISH MR BIRCHALL SENIOR ENGLISH
MR BIRCHALL IS THE GOAT
Mr Birchalls english class is the best class of all time. He is just amazing he brings the best notes and the best jokes. Please bring more of Mr Birchall. He is a genius please.
Okay school
Excellent education - 1-3 years ahead of the rest of New Zealand.
Had a terrible social life there because there were not many people of the same race as me and some weirdos.
The indoor environment is bad - smells of noodles and the air is stuffy.
Outdoor environment is alright for it being an indoor school. Titoki Domain is nice.
Had a terrible social life there because there were not many people of the same race as me and some weirdos.
The indoor environment is bad - smells of noodles and the air is stuffy.
Outdoor environment is alright for it being an indoor school. Titoki Domain is nice.
Cambridge
English department chsnge??
Acg parnell college is a great school if you stay for time. You need to build long emotions and connections with teachers to unlock full potential. One flaw I see is in the IGCSE English course where students are expected to complete two syllabus of language and literature in 8 months whilst normally you srr given 2 years or the choice of choosing only one. Some of the English department in the IG year are very strict in marking demotivating students. Students find thst the grades they see in internal tests in the system of the year are much lower compared to the grade they receive by Cambridge in the external exam suggesting that teachers are over complicating things. Some teachers in ig English also tend to move away from the lesson talking about random not important things.
Although the sciences mathe.atics and sprt department are very well taken care off as teachers in math are entertaining and slo time efficient. Some teachers are excellent whilst everyone ine else in the departments are great.
Overall I think acg need to review the igcse English course and how the department Handle themselves.
Although the sciences mathe.atics and sprt department are very well taken care off as teachers in math are entertaining and slo time efficient. Some teachers are excellent whilst everyone ine else in the departments are great.
Overall I think acg need to review the igcse English course and how the department Handle themselves.
Racism..?
It’s ok. Obviously it focuses a lot on academics but you’re only going to do well if you have a good teacher—and some of them are just exceptionally bad. Also, tons of the staff are racist. Not outright, but as a POC there are quite a lot of micro aggressions and assumptions made solely on your race (eg. identifying poc by their race “the black girl” “the chinese girl” or assuming someone is less academically capable due to their race) i mean if you’re white im sure it’s great though. Also don’t buy the stuff they sell it’s all overpriced. The cafeteria food & all the events the prefects organise. They will try to charge you 2 dollars for a piece of paper and a tiny little chocolate.
2 years in
Our son has been at ACG Parnell for almost two years now. He has really loved it. For Year 9 we have applied to other public high schools with good reputation as we wanted to keep our options open. He got accepted out of zone into every one of these schools, but in the end we have decided to keep him at ACG Parnell as he has given us a million and one reasons why he loves the school and wants to stay. It's a financial sacrifice for us but we will do it as I think loving the school is so important. If you go to a good school but feel like you don't fit in and hate it, you won't do well.
He walked into ACG Parnell in Year 7 as a child. Now that he is about to finish Year 8 he is a young man. His maturity levels are way above his friends who are in public schools. He has done exams since Year 7 and tests almost every week. It's intense and his grades are not all excellent but he is clearly learning at an exponential rate. The school has a good vibe that he enjoys - he has made some good friends (although this took about a year to develop due to Covid).
If I had anything bad to say about the school that's that there are not many events or opportunities for the school community to meet and greet, but that may be true for every high school - I just don't know. The school does focus A LOT on academics so there aren't too many extra curricular activities that take kids out of class. Also don't expect for your kids to do subjects such as food tech, hard tech, etc, that seem to be popular in other schools. But do expect them to develop excellent debating skills so they can win the argument against you of leaving them in a private school. :)
He walked into ACG Parnell in Year 7 as a child. Now that he is about to finish Year 8 he is a young man. His maturity levels are way above his friends who are in public schools. He has done exams since Year 7 and tests almost every week. It's intense and his grades are not all excellent but he is clearly learning at an exponential rate. The school has a good vibe that he enjoys - he has made some good friends (although this took about a year to develop due to Covid).
If I had anything bad to say about the school that's that there are not many events or opportunities for the school community to meet and greet, but that may be true for every high school - I just don't know. The school does focus A LOT on academics so there aren't too many extra curricular activities that take kids out of class. Also don't expect for your kids to do subjects such as food tech, hard tech, etc, that seem to be popular in other schools. But do expect them to develop excellent debating skills so they can win the argument against you of leaving them in a private school. :)
ACG Parnell
When we were considering ACG Parnell for our son we struggled to find any reviews, so hence I've decided to write this one. Our son finished his public primary school with an accolade of awards, but we always felt that he wasn't being challenged enough. Well, ACG Parnell is certainly providing that challenge. Our son has done more work in the last 2 months than he has in all the years previous in his primary. But also compared to our local intermediate - he is doing a LOT more work than any of the local kids. In some subjects there was a huge jump from his previous learning so a lot to catch up on. The school has a homework policy so expect your kid to be busy in the evenings. However, this will also offer you as a parent an opportunity to be involved in your child's learning and actually know what it is that they're learning and what they need help with. School does not stop during lockdown - each period is conducted over Teams during normal school hours. While our son has found work challenging (and stressful) at times, he is also overall really loving the school. Socially, he has slotted in quite nicely and has made many friends. But I wouldn't send there a child who is not academically inclined. The school also offers extra support for learning, if it's needed. There are numerous clubs that your kid can join. There is something there for everyone. Finally, we have not felt that there are many hidden fees on top of annual fees (at least not yet).
Great school
Great academic school with increasing focus on sport and other activities for a more diverse environment.
Acg Parnell
Overall a pretty good school but can be pretty stressful but great if you want to be pushed academically
39 George Street, 1023, Auckland
Damian Watson
09 308 1666
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