Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery

"If you're a family eager to be involved in your child's education and join a community of people who value collective teaching and learning, this is for you! Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery school is unique: parents can stay after 9 am and take part. This openness lets everyone understand how the school works from the inside out, creating strong opinions and views (both from parents, teachers and students). To benefit from the school's values, you need to be self-managed, and your family must commit some time. Ideally, your parents' work or finances should let you give at least 1-hour to half a day every week for projects, helping tamarikis, or sharing skills and passions. For academic achievement, you must spend an hour or two each evening on your studies (this is true no matter which school you go to in NZ). If you can't give time or don't want to be involved, or if you think this school is designed for neurodiverse, ASD, ADHD, or autistic-spectrum children, it might not be right for your family. In that case, look for other options. This helps keep the waiting list short for those truly excited to join our special community!"

"This school is great if you don't work well with the structured, all NCEA focused, year level based way of learning regular schools use and want to pursue other passions than NCEA. This school is also great if you have the knowledge, skills, and drive to start NCEA before year 11. Beware this school does require a higher level of self control and planning because you choose what NCEA opportunities to persue and passing NCEA won't be a given if you don't plan and track your NCEA to certain extent. Also parents need to more involved as they will most likely have to help their child plan their learning and NCEA progress. As a student of Aotawhiti I think if you have the knowledge, drive, and self control you will leave school better prepared for the less straight forward and structured environments of university and work."

"No good. They dont accept tranferrees from other school. No sympathy on the students not being able to go to school."

"Good school. New building looks great."

"My 10 year old son wakes up every morning begging to go to school. (this location is the primary school half of Ao Tawhiti, which is supposed to be united in a new building downtown in 2019). The self directed model of Ao Tawhiti really works for my boy. He's years ahead of national standards and gets to spend several hours every day focused on learning stuff he actually cares about. You know that dead-eyed look that kids can get when school is a horrible burden forced upon them? You don't see that look at Ao Tawhiti. You might see crazy hairdos, kids wearing animal onesie pajamas every day, or 9 year olds arguing about the nature of the universe, but rarely the dead eyed look."