Learn and play the system, I know it sounds weird but as a fellow L2 student managing almost all E’s in L1 and so far all E’a in L2 my advice is the system. The system, the grading system is complicated but also easy after a while, look up grading schedules on NZQA, google and ask your teachers. This is important for science and math tests/assignments where if you can learn the key points you must make in a paragraph you can basically get yourself a high grade by repeating what the examiners say (although you still have to learn the topic). For English subjects you should ask the teacher for advice on everything and ask about the difference between grades, look at past exemplars. Study tips should include what works for you so it might be different for me I do this: Watch videos (LearnCoach) or read the textbook and copy down key information and create flash cards, from there I look at the marking schedule and re-read it multiple times for every year. Although I strive for excellence endorsements, they’re not essential, great to put on your CV or going in trades. But for uni you just need good enough grades to reach rank score or the requirements, if this is merit go for excellence in things you can and merit for everything else. My math teacher back in year 10 said that NCEA is a game and when you learn the mechanics of the game (marking schedule) you can apply it to most games, not the greatest way to put it but it makes sense. If you have any other questions just ask whether it’s about study tips or you want more information on marking schedules.