As tens of thousands of students flock to check their NCEA results, a careers adviser says getting bad grades isn't "the end of the world".
The anxious wait was over on Tuesday for about 170,000 students, with results NCEA published online.
Grades were available from 7am, and within hours around 24,000 students had already logged in to check their marks, a New Zealand Qualifications Authority spokesperson says.
St Cuthbert's College Year 12 student Olivia Bennett is celebrating her marks which were "as good as I hoped, which was a relief".
Olivia sat Level 3 calculus and English exams as well as Level 2 physics, chemistry, history and Spanish.
"In my mock exams, my calculus exam, I wasn't happy with my results but I studied hard and my results improved and I was really happy with them," she told Newshub.
Her dad Tom says it's an anxious time waiting on whether Olivia's hard work had paid off.
"Livvie has worked hard during the year and she's quite conscientious and focused and I only ask my kids to do the best they can and if they get good results that's great, if they're not what they expected that's life and you move onto the next challenge," he says.
That's advice echoed by Careers New Zealand which says while good marks can have an impact on future jobs or study, not getting the best marks isn't a reason to despair.
"A lot of parents will be disappointed, but they need to remember it's not about them, it's about their teenagers - there are lots of options they can pursue so whether they want to go down a different path or whether they want to try that again," Cassius Kuresa says.
"If the parents talk with the schools they can often find a way to help the kids get the extra credits they need or look at other options the kid might be interested in."
He says exams can be an "emotional time" for students and it's important parents applaud their achievements regardless.
"It's a time to celebrate and give praise to these kids, a lot of them have worked really hard during the year so no matter what result we've got to support them."
NZQA website inundated
Within 80 minutes of the website going live some trying to log in got a message saying the NZQA site is "currently experiencing heavy load on our website".
"Apologies to all affected. Please try again later."
NZQA says those who currently get that message will need to wait a few seconds and refresh the page.
Olivia's younger sister, who is in Year 11, was one of those who wasn't able to access her results on Tuesday.
"She's at my brother's cricket camp so she's a bit distracted. She's having lots of fun so she's not too worried."
Last year's busy exam schedule was hit by two major hiccups - November's 7.8 magnitude quake near Kaikoura and a botched mathematics exam question; the latter is the focus of an independent review.
The investigation is expected to be completed by February, and published the following month.
Students affected by the November 14 quake and the November 15 flooding in Wellington can apply for an 'Emergency Credit Inclusion' if they "narrowly missed" achieving NCEA Levels 1-3 and/or University Entrance, the NZQA website says.
Those affected can get a maximum of six unspecified credits.
Schools can apply on behalf of a student from Tuesday, with a deadline of February 10.
Results can be checked on the NZQA website or by calling 0800 697 296.
Marked papers will be returned to students from late January, at which point they can apply for reviews or reconsiderations of their grades until February 17.
Those who sat Scholarship exams will have to wait a bit longer for their results, with marks not going online until February 8, with their deadline for review on March 3.
Newshub.
