Aaron Fahey's problems do not keep him awake at night - his searches for solutions do.
For the past six months, the 17-year-old Kavanagh College pupil and part-time Otago Daily Times employee has been happily sitting wide-eyed at his laptop until the early hours of the morning, trying to come up with a better way to keep track of his NCEA progress.
He found himself frustrated by the time delay and presentation of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority's credit management system, which calculates ongoing results for pupils to monitor their progress.
''I didn't like how long it took for a mark to reach NZQA's credit management system, or how the data was presented back to me once it did arrive.
''It takes a month from when you sit your assessment until you get your marks back. That wasn't working very well for me.''
So he created a new system for himself.
He made an Excel spreadsheet to track his own progress, and it wasn't long before his friends also found it useful.
That inspired him to turn it into a web application for all pupils to download.
He called it ''NCEATrack'', and most of the pupils at Kavanagh College began to use it.
Aaron's first version of NCEATrack went public in March 2014, and earlier this month, he released version two.
Now, pupils from about 20 schools across the country are using it, and he is promoting the service nationwide by offering it free online at www.nceatrack.co.nz.
''I think this not only helps students see their progress in NCEA more clearly, but it encourages self-management.
''I also think it works as a motivator. Knowing you're 12 credits away from excellence overall could push the student to try harder and achieve more.
''At the moment, I get satisfaction from user responses. I've had very positive feedback.''
Aaron said pupils still had to put all of their NCEA assessment through NZQA, but by inputting their own information into NCEATrack, they could check their progress daily rather than monthly.
''And plus, because teachers work long hard days, there could be an error inputting your data. NCEATrack acts as a reference.''
This is not Aaron's first attempt at creating solutions to school problems.
''I'm a problem-solver; that's what I like.
''I'm into business and trying new things and getting things on the road - started up.''
He and a couple of fellow pupils attempted to create a programme two years ago which monitored and managed pupil absences.
''It didn't work out so well. But it was part of my learning curve.''
He has plenty of other ideas stored away that are aimed at improving school operations, but as for sharing details about them, we would have to wait.
''That's top secret,'' he said.
