Auckland Sports College

"Moving Forward Together"

Auckland Sports College

Auckland Sports College is an unregistered boys only Year 9-14 secondary school. We considered applying for registration as a private school but have been advised that private schools can not convert to either designated character or charter schools. We remain unregistered and unfunded by the Ministry of Education, with our students receiving credits through Te Kura, the correspondence school, and tertiary providers.

The school's special character can be expressed as "Auckland Sports College embeds a STEM-focussed secondary school within a Positive Youth Development Service. The school promotes academic and sporting excellence within a Pacific-style positive youth development context and riffs off a common interest in sport. Students who have left secondary school early, or who are disengaging, or who have not been allowed entry into their desired courses, and who aim to increase their sporting and academic attainment will be given preference for enrolment."

If you have ambitions in sport, or just love playing or even watching, and realise the importance of a second plan A (a career outside of sport) then we have a place for you. We don’t care very much about how you went at your previous school. We do want you to have goals for the future.

There is no other school like us in Auckland. Because we are not an ordinary state school, we can do things differently. Some of the innovations of Auckland Sports College are :

• Sport is very important to us. At Auckland Sports College you will be mixing with a number of students on professional pathways. We will work very hard to ensure you have every opportunity to be scouted. We support all sports.
• Our gym is open from 7.30am Monday-Saturday, with school starting at 10.00am. There is time for a workout, shower, and breakfast before school. The gym will also be open until 8.30pm at night.
• We realise that many students have jobs and sometimes have to work during school hours. We provide learning/catch-up opportunities in the evenings with tutors available some of the time.
• We know that at many schools teachers assume that if you are good at sports you are also dumb. We also know that many youth who are good at sports act dumber than they are in the classroom. You will do well at Auckland Sports College. We will get you through your NCEA Levels and prepared for employment, an apprenticeship, or University.
• We welcome ‘repeaters’. You are entitled to free education at Auckland Sports College until the end of the year where you turn 19.
• Once you turn 18 you are entitled to a student allowance of about $250 per week if your parents earn less than about 110K per year between them. We will help you apply for this. We will also help you get your driver’s licence.
• We operate a Positive Youth Development model. No detentions. A huge student voice in decisions that affect students. Our Deans and Deputy Principals are here to help you, not to harass and be a nuisance. Our motto is “Moving forward together” and we mean it.

Our Activities

	January 2025 How did we do in 2024? Ten students, no Ministry of Education funding, no teachers. Students enrolled at Te Kura, the correspondence school. All were rejects from state schools. All were brown. We had two Year 13 students. Both got UE. One has qualified for entry to the B.Eng (Hons) programme at AUT. The other has been offered a place in the Diploma of Engineering and can join year 2 of the B.Eng(Hons) programme in 2026. We had six Year 12 students. Three have completed NCEA Level 3. Two have completed NCEA Level 2. One, who was with us for only a few months to complete NCEA Level 1, did that and left for fulltime work with 45 credits towards NCEA Level 2. Two of the six have completed the requirements of UE in mathematics. We had two Year 11 students. Both have completed NCEA Level 2. One has completed the requirements of UE in mathematics
	December 2024 We are going to try something new in 2025 to smooth the transition from school to university for our students. Our goal is to have at least one Year 13 student complete UE by the end of Term 2 and enrol for one or two university papers in semester two while he improves his rank score and prepares for external exams. We have several students who should finish summer school with one UE subject passed (three are needed).
	November 2024 We were unsuccessful in our application to become a charter school. The Charter School Agency preferred The BUSY School which aims to enrol disengaged students aged 16-19. Students attend 'school' two days a week and study Level One, and perhaps Two, English and Mathematics. The BUSY School sounds to us like just another small Private Training Establishment (PTE) which should be funded through the Tertiary Education Commission's Youth Guarantee Scheme. However, congratulations to The BUSY School. Its contract is a clear indication that the Charter Schools Agency places a ceiling of NCEA Level 2 on the achievement of disengaged students. We do not share that philosophy, not at all. The BUSY School is the only state funded secondary school in NZ whose students will not be able to get UE.
	October 2024 We provide services outside school hours. We are grateful to the Auckland Lottery Community Committee for their grant.
	September 2024 Rugby league is the most popular sport for our students. This year five of the NZ secondary schools team and three of the NZ Under 18 clubs team are members of our after-school service. The game was a 22-22 draw.
	Aug 2024 We are grateful to the Community Organisations Grant Scheme for their grant. This will assist with the provision of our services to non-enrolled (NEET) students.
	July 2024 We partner with TheGetGroup to deliver two day life-skills or employment readiness courses. This one is worth 20 Level 2 credits.
	June 2024 Our sponsor organisation (BEWT) is committed to nesting the school within a village of services. Secondary school funding ends at age 19. BEWT has obtained initial funding from SkyCity Community Trust to extend the opportunity to complete NCEA qualifications to youth aged 19+. We are looking forward to integrating these students within our extended hours campus.
	May 2024 Our application for establishment as a designated character school has been overtaken by events. We will be applying for a partnership school contract. We are setting up interviews with applicants short-listed for principal, and have begun advertising for teachers. We have signed a conditional assignment of lease for premises in Otahuhu. We have selected a financial services provider and have completed the schooldocs questionnaire from which our policies will be developed. We have decided on the structure of our Board of Trustees and have begun to make appointments. We have decided on a uniform. We have begun to add some tutoring materials to our website. We have met with Dr Carlos Cheung, MP for New Lynn and have visited Auckland Rugby Union's 'Pro-Sport' PTE and the NZMA's trade schools and Sylvia Park campuses.
	April 2024 We met with officials from the Auckland office of the Ministry of Education. Our application will be circulated to wider teams within the Ministry for feedback. The assessment may take 4-6 weeks to complete and then a first report will be produced for the Hon Erica Stanford who will decide whether to proceed to the next step - consultation.We were advised that it takes the Ministry at least 2-3 years to establish a designated character school. We also met with Paulo Garcia, MP for New Lynn, who reminded us that the government was committed to reintroducing partnership schools.
	Mar 2024 We have filed our application for establishment as a designated character school. We were able to meet Greg Fleming, the MP for Maungakiekie (the electorate includes our Onehunga Hub) early in the month who reminded us that the government was committed to reintroducing partnership schools.
	February 2024 We have forwarded the first draft of our application for registration as a designated character school to the Ministry of Education.
	January 2024 We were privileged to have the Minister For Children, the Hon Karen Chhour attend our 2023 prizegiving. This was held at the Dolphin Theatre in Onehunga. In the photo Mrs Chhour is with two 15 year olds who have completed the requirements of NCEA Level 2. Mrs Chhour reminded us that partnership schools are returning.
	December 2023 We didn't have the numbers to enter a team in the Global Youth Sevens 2023 but 5 of our boys were in the Eden Rugby Club team. We are aiming to put a team in this competition in 2024, and perhaps we can organise something for the Condor 7s too.
	November 2023 The second meeting of our steering group (all welcome!) was held at the Onehunga Community House in Selwyn St. Youthtown are very supportive. There was some mention of the Youth Guarantee Scheme as a 'competitor'. However the Youth Guarantee Scheme is tertiary education. It is effectively a foundation programme aiming for the completion of NCEA Level 2. It is provided in classrooms during school hours with no associated sporting opportunities.
	October 2023 The first meeting of our steering group (all welcome!) was held at the Onehunga Community Centre. There was lots of support for this initiative to fill a gap in the secondary school network. At present 16-19 year olds who leave school early have no path back into secondary education, despite being entitled to free enrolment at a secondary school until the end of the year they turn 19. We have started work on our application for registration (as either a designated character school or a partnership school) and have emailed the Minister of Education advising her of our intention to apply for registration.