Dual-enrolment programme continues to give West Coast ākonga scope to succeed

Annabell Dey (far right) celebrating the programme's success with students and tutors from Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

Home to some of New Zealand’s most isolated households, the West Coast has a long and rich history of pioneering.

In one of its latest pioneering efforts, ākonga learn foundational skills in a variety of fields such as cooking, mechanics, carpentry, and outdoor recreation as part of a dual-enrolment programme between Greymouth High School and Tai Poutini Polytechnic.

Initiated in 2021, the programme has remarkable attendance, employability and learning progress results. 

“Last year we had an 89 percent course completion rate, which is very, very good,” says Tai Poutini Polytechnic manager of teacher and learning, Annabell Dey. 

Annabell oversaw the programme’s creation three years ago and says it’s gone from strength to strength since. Starting with just nine students, 2023’s cohort ballooned to 23. Of that number, 16 students are currently either enrolled in tertiary study, have entered the workforce, or returned to school to complete NCEA Level 3.  

Flexibility and student agency drives this success, says Greymouth High School principal Samantha Mortimer. 

Ākonga in the programme learn skills in a variety of fields.

“A lot of our rangatahi struggle with school and attendance. The school environment is not for everyone, but students will make the effort to attend school when they feel like classes enrich their lives in clear, immediate ways. 

“I think the more we can offer opportunities for our rangatahi to find success, whatever that looks like to them and their whānau, the better it is for everyone,” she says.

“It is a good pathway for our students to really make sure we keep them in school.”

And the pathway is working – the programme’s attendance data sits around 90 percent, says Annabell.

Motivation through accountability

It’s a result that seems to require few tricks. The data simply reflects a sense of accountability among students – less to a system or an institution, but to themselves, says Annabell, highlighting that the programme’s real success begins with how students are treated.  

“The first four weeks are the hardest,” she says, explaining that some students initially take advantage of the programme’s freedom. She makes it clear to students that violating the polytechnic’s code of conduct will end in unenrolment.

“After that, there’s usually a really big change in all the students. They realise they’re being treated as adults, and they begin to act a little bit more mature.” 

Seventeen-year-old Neveah, part of the programme in 2023, says being treated as an adult kept her motivated.

Ākonga in the programme learn skills

“I like that,” she says. “If you want to do the work, then you will do it, but if you don’t, that’s up to you. They don’t treat us like babies.”

This approach motivated certain students, says Samantha, noting that a number of students went from never going to school to going to school.

Both Samantha and Annabell agree that the key to sustaining the programme’s impressive attendance record comes down to flexibility. 

“This means encouraging the students to take up part-time work or sports commitments and ensuring the programme can work around these,” explains Samantha. 

“They still go to Grey High and they can come and do courses with us if they want to. If we’re running a driver’s licence course, they can come and do that. If the polytech is doing a health and safety course, they can do that as well.”

“We encourage them to get a part-time job when they’re here and we work around it as much as we can,” adds Annabell. “So, for example, if they have to work every Thursday morning, we’ll say, right, that’s fine. We’ll put a plan in place for them to catch up.”

A new learning environment

Beginning mid-year, another cohort of Greymouth High students are taking up the opportunities offered by this partnership. While both Samantha and Annabell are looking forward to another year, they acknowledge it still has challenges. 

“NCEA is going to be tough,” says Samantha, explaining that new standards in NCEA make the flexibility of dual enrolment more difficult, because assessments now need to be done in one go.

“Finding people who can teach maths and English can be really difficult,” she adds. “That’s a massive concern in both our school and in programmes like this.

“Students come to school when they see a purpose to it. Like all of us as human beings, we do things because we know they’re going to be purposeful. And if we can’t put great teachers in front of our kids, they’re not going to find school purposeful.”

But challenges aside, feedback from students and parents about dual enrolment is positive. Students such as Neveah say they really enjoy the new learning environment. 

“I did like going to school but I found it very difficult to learn there,” explains Neveah. “Tai Poutini has more one-on-one learning and it’s showed me there are different ways of understanding things.” 

Ākonga in the programme learn skills in a variety of fields.