Cambridge High School is a state secondary school in the Waikato

Waikato

The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...

 town of Cambridge

Cambridge, New Zealand

Cambridge is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated 24 kilometres southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions".In the 1840s Cambridge had a Maori population but in the 1850's missionaries and...

. Cambridge High School is a co-educational state secondary school, students from the town and surrounding rural areas attend the school. The school is a large part of the Cambridge community, participating in a wide network of formal and informal relationships with other agencies and groups.

Pre-Annan

Many claim that Cambridge High School, in the 'pre-Annan' period, was a rough school, and had earned itself the nickname "Cannabis High". Many students in the region chose to bus to schools in Hamilton instead of their local high school.

100% success rate

The school came under fire after it had maintained a 100% pass rate for two years in a row in NCEA (National Certificate in Educational Achievement) exams, and attracted a lot of media attention amid claims of teacher bullying and manipulation of the students' exam results.

'Achievement Recovery Room'

Close attention was paid to the so-called 'Achievement Recovery Room'. Students who were regarded as slow were pulled out of mainstream classes and put into Achievement Recovery. There they could catch up on work they missed, until they were up to speed with other pupils. The current affairs program '60 Minutes' highlighted claims that teachers who were put in charge of Achievement Recovery had written assessment answers on the board for students to copy.

Inquiries and departure

Claims of teacher bullying and manipulation of school results led to an investigation by the Ministry of Education. The subsequent report revealed flaws in Mrs Annan's tactics and problems with the school such as poor facilities. After pressure from those in charge of the investigation, Mrs Annan announced her resignation as principal on Friday 13 August 2004.

Post-Annan

Since Mrs Annan's departure the school has seen several transformations. This includes the restoration of its library, which was dismantled only a couple of years before, and some changes to other school structures such as after school detentions for minor infringements.