Anna

I joined Ao Tawhiti in the middle of my NCEA journey, after moving from the Cambridge system, and I only had about a year and a half to figure out how everything worked. What made that possible was how my Homebase teachers structured my learning with me. I took History, English, Media, and Art & Design, but the best part was how those subjects could connect. I was able to build one project that counted for both Art and Media, and if I’d wanted to, I could have extended it into English as well. That integration meant I could work deeply on something I cared about while still collecting the credits I needed for University Entrance. Ao Tawhiti’s approach gave me the freedom to take a non-standard route without falling behind. The independence can be confronting when you’re new, especially coming in with zero experience in NCEA, but it ended up making my workload more manageable and far less stressful. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have met such wonderful teachers and have found the school even if it was later in my education.