Jemma

I spent 5 years at Ao Tawhiti starting in 2019 as a Year 7 and it is definitely the best school I could have ended up in. The nature of the school is incredibly personalised and your learning is centred around you. If you have goals that are not necessarily academic based, you can organise to pursue these goals outside of school. Ao Tawhiti was the perfect fit for me because they supported me spending more time at home training and caring for my horses, which is my non-academic passion, while trusting that I would also work towards my academic goals in my own time. I was able to graduate a year early with an Excellence Endorsement in NCEA Level 3 and be part-time in my final year, giving me time to do outside courses and work placements. This was exactly what I wanted to be able to do and I don’t think it would have been possible at any other school. Ao Tawhiti has given me a good set up for life beyond high school by encouraging independence, initiative and confidence in one’s own abilities. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn here.