Does the colour of your skin dictate how well you'll do at school and what vocation you'll chose?

Well, according to an NZ Herald investigation, it will.

They've looked at the statistics for all of the NCEA standards last year, and they found that Maori, Pasifika and low-decile students were more likely to be enrolled in vocational subjects -- subjects that aren't university-approved.

So they're more likely to learn how to make coffee or operate a grill.

Maori, in particular, show the biggest decline in terms of students seeking and achieving an academic standard.

By the time they reach level two, Maori students were four times more likely as a decile 10 Pakeha student to take subjects in the 'services sector'.

Maori and Pasifika students dominate low-decile schools, and Pakeha and Asian students make up the bulk of high-decile.

I don't believe a school defines you -- or should I say, I never use to believe that.

But that goes hand in hand with the theory that anyone in New Zealand can grow up to be Prime Minister. I use to think that too, but I don't believe that's the case now.

Record numbers of students are gaining NCEA across the board and that includes a spike in the number of Maori and Pasifika low-decile students, but they're achieving a 'different kind' of NCEA -- the kind that fast-tracks you into the services sector.

And I don't know how you fix that?

The government says it has a raft of new programmes in place to support Maori and Pasifika students. More are passing their NCEAs and we should celebrate that.

But Labour says all the current system does is reinforce a class division within our education system.

The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to study science and Shakespeare.

The poorer you are, the more likely you'll end up in hospitality.

And yet we know that wealth doesn't determine your intelligence or academic ability -- but it does open up more opportunities, and it does trigger far better life outcomes.

Not every child will go to university -- but it is important to give those who can go, the opportunity to do so.

And as I say, I don't know how you fix this, but I do think that an education system that is failing to progress our most vulnerable students is a system that needs a re-think.

It's an interesting question to ponder, isn't it?

Did your school influence the course of your life and your career?

Did your education define you and what you did or didn't go on to achieve?