In line with other schools, we aim to build a sense of ‘real time’ reporting, using information and results which are made available to parents as they are recorded.
Parents are encouraged to check results regularly via the portal. You will receive an email notifying you when the latest Effort Grades report has been published. Deans, teachers, Assistant Heads of Faculty and Heads of Faculty all monitor and track student progress.
As a result is gained in a subject and entered into KAMAR to be published on the portal, teachers are asked to record a short comment. As a minimum, there should be one written comment from every subject each term.
To produce a consistent style of reporting, all grades will use the N A M E format (Not Achieved, Achieved, Merit, Excellence). This is already familiar to parents with students taking subjects in an NCEA course.
In addition to regular feedback about academic progress in each subject area, Effort Grade reports will be completed once for the whole school in Term 1, twice in Terms 2 and 3 and once for Years 9 and 10 in Term 4.
This year, we are trialing new Effort Grades. Effort Grade reports focus on three areas: Attitude to Work, Classroom Behaviour and Organisation. This year, one of the following grades will be awarded for each: Working well, Inconsistent effort, Cause for Concern. Descriptors for each grade are below.
Given the combination of real time reporting, Effort Grade reports, parent teacher interviews and communication between school and home at any time, traditional full written reports are not produced.
If requested, a final reference can be produced for students at the end of Year 13 and for other leavers.
Effort Grade Reports
Term 1: Published to parents on Friday 21 March
Term 2: Published to parents on Friday 30 May and Friday 27 June
Term 3: Published to parents on Friday 15 August and Friday 19 September
Term 4: Published to parents on Friday 6 November (Years 9 and 10 only)
Parent Teacher Meetings
Term 1: Thursday 27 March and Friday 28 March (Whole School)
Term 3: Friday 1 August (Years 11, 12 and 13) and Friday 12 September (Years 9 and 10)
Effort Grade Descriptors
Attitude to Work: this includes completing set tasks, taking work seriously, answering questions in class, offering ideas in discussion, contributing to group work, clearly putting thought and effort into tasks, asking for help or clarification, discussing progress with the teacher, expressing a desire to do well and then following through with that.
Classroom Behaviour: this includes entry and exit into the classroom, tone when speaking to the teacher and other students, on task/off task behaviour and attentiveness during lessons.
Organisation: this includes coming to class with the necessary equipment and completing prep or other set work as requested, and in a timely manner.
Grades
(W) Working Well: This student contributes to class discussions, is prepared for lessons, is pro-active in their learning and consistently puts time and effort into their work. A high level of application and behaviour is demonstrated. Prep/homework is completed on time and to a good standard.
(I) Inconsistent: A student who sometimes exhibits the above but is not consistent in their application.
(CC) Cause for Concern: A student who clearly needs to ‘lift their game’ in areas of their work. For example, the student is not well prepared for class, completion of prep is sporadic, is not particularly focused in class and disrupts the learning environment.
Rathkeale College provides a broad based academic programme for all boys and is proud of its academic record. The academic and/or vocational pathways seek to challenge the students to achieve to their highest potential. Academic progress is continually reviewed to ensure that able students are challenged and that additional support is given to those who are experiencing difficulty.
Class sizes are kept small with Board policy establishing a maximum class size of 25. The average class size is about 16, which allows teachers to give individual attention to each student. The number of subjects on offer increases in Years 12 and 13 when the girls from St Matthew’s join the boys in the Senior College.
Rotation Subjects (Students will do all of the following on rotation)
Students may also be selected into Foundation Skills classes.
Rathkeale College considers it to be important that students experience a wide variety of subjects in the junior school. Options expand and individual choice increases as students progress through the college.
Core subjects (Taken for a whole year)
Rotation Subjects (Students will be able to choose from the following)
Students may also be selected into Foundation Skills classes.
To see details of courses please click on the relevant subject.
Click to read the Curriculum Booklet 2026
Core subjects (Are taken by all students)
Option Subjects (Students choose three from the following)