Learning Experiences Outside the Classroom

Enough about covid: Adventure program to help low decile learners enter university makes a splash

Whether they were swinging from a trapeze, abseiling from a high beam or assembling a raft, 80 students from Aorere College had an adventure-filled start last month to a programme that hopes to offer them more options for their future.

<div class&equals;"text section">&NewLine;<p>Fortunately able to go ahead before the Covid-19 lockdown&comma; the Year 10-13 group enjoyed a team building camp at Kokako Lodge in Hunua to launch the student-centred programme&comma; with Aorere College &lpar;South Auckland&rpar; programme leader&comma; deputy principal Leanne Webb&comma; and other senior teachers there in support&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The philanthropically-funded Buchanan Programme for UE Success will operate in four South Auckland schools&colon; Alfriston College&comma; Onehunga High School&comma; Tangaroa College and Aorere&comma; with the aim of providing intensive academic and mentoring support to promising Years 10 to 13 students to significantly increase their chances of achieving University Entrance&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The high expectation programme’s design&comma;” says University of Auckland senior analyst Victoria Cockle&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;is based on everything we’ve learnt about what will make the most educational difference for these students&comma; who have so much potential but might otherwise lack opportunities&period; It’s intended to be flexible and designed within each school’s individual context&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The central premise is &OpenCurlyQuote;buying out’ a significant amount of a senior teacher’s time to be each student’s academic mentor&comma; ally and advocate&period; They will also provide pastoral care support and be the key wh&amacr;nau contact&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"imagecomponent section">&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;fig"><picture><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;1959872246&sol;image&period;img&period;1024&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586227241019&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 768px&rpar;" &sol;><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;1959872246&sol;image&period;img&period;768&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586227241019&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 480px&rpar;" &sol;><img class&equals;" imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;img" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;&lowbar;jcr&lowbar;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;1959872246&sol;image&period;img&period;480&period;low&period;jpg&sol;1586227241019&period;jpg" &sol;><&sol;picture><figcaption class&equals;"imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;caption">Flying high on the trapeze&semi; students were encouraged to challenge themselves&period;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"text section">&NewLine;<p>This work will be complemented by extra tutoring in core UE subjects like English&comma; maths and science&comma; and mentoring from students who have graduated from each school and are now successfully engaged in university study&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Back at camp and busy in the kitchen&comma; Leanne Webb says she’s really excited to be involved&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I see this programme&comma; which is based on retention&comma; achievement and extra tuition&comma; as controlling the quality of the opportunity for these students&period; It’s keeping their options open&comma; so even if they don’t decide to go to university&comma; they still have the choice&semi; and it’s allowing them to share a commonality of purpose and focus on an end product&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Looking out the kitchen window at all the smiling faces and laughter as the students move around a specially-designed &OpenCurlyQuote;Great Race’-style course in groups&comma; she says the camp has been a wonderful multi-level bonding and trust exercise&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You can see that it’s building relationships and also providing a great opportunity for leadership&comma; as the Year 13s engage with the younger students&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"imagecomponent section">&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;fig"><picture><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;2006645369&sol;image&period;img&period;1024&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586227296728&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 768px&rpar;" &sol;><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;2006645369&sol;image&period;img&period;768&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586227296728&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 480px&rpar;" &sol;><img class&equals;" imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;img" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;&lowbar;jcr&lowbar;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;2006645369&sol;image&period;img&period;480&period;low&period;jpg&sol;1586227296728&period;jpg" &sol;><&sol;picture><figcaption class&equals;"imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;caption">A &&num;8216&semi;Great Race&&num;8217&semi; group try to make a floatable raft from bamboo poles and old tyres in just 20 minutes&period;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"text section">&NewLine;<p>The Buchanan programme plans to address the disproportionately low number of students who attend university from lower decile schools&period; Just 28 percent of students from decile one to three schools in New Zealand achieved University Entrance in 2018&comma; compared with 63 percent from deciles eight to ten&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The programme draws on long-term research carried out at the Woolf Fisher Research Centre&comma; the Centre for Educational Leadership and the Starpath Project&comma; all based at the University’s Faculty of Education and Social Work&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It has been funded by Drs Trevor and Caroline Gray of the Buchanan Foundation&comma; who were keen to help students in low decile schools pursue tertiary study&period; The foundation’s gift of &dollar;1&period;867 million will fund the pilot project over the next four years and was received as part of the University of Auckland’s For All Our Futures campaign&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"imagecomponent section">&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;fig"><picture><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;166223092&sol;image&period;img&period;1024&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586226759392&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 768px&rpar;" &sol;><source srcset&equals;"&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;jcr&colon;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;166223092&sol;image&period;img&period;768&period;medium&period;jpg&sol;1586226759392&period;jpg" media&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 480px&rpar;" &sol;><img class&equals;" imagecomponent&lowbar;&lowbar;img" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;aem&sol;content&sol;auckland&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&sol;&lowbar;jcr&lowbar;content&sol;leftpar&sol;imagecomponent&lowbar;166223092&sol;image&period;img&period;480&period;low&period;jpg&sol;1586226759392&period;jpg" &sol;><&sol;picture><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<h6><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;auckland&period;ac&period;nz&sol;en&sol;news&sol;2020&sol;04&sol;07&sol;adventurous-fun-as-educational-pilot-launches&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Story and images shared with School News by the University of Auckland&period; <&sol;a><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

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