Coffee, community and confidence lead learning at Cromwell College

Open for its first full year in 2025, the Cromwell College food cart gives ākonga a glimpse of working in the hospitality industry, with NCEA credits attached.

Set up with the help of the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust, local barista Derik Kotze also assists with his wealth of coffee knowledge.

“It’s amazing to see how students’ confidence in their customer service skills and in themselves develops from the first day to the end of those six weeks,” says kaiako and pathways manager Jenna Harton, who organised the purchase of the cart.

Shane Thwaites and Sam Anderson-Heather from PlaceMakers Cromwell, Central Otago councillor Sarah Browne and Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley stop by for delicious Cromwell College coffee and local goodies.

One ākonga, Nathanial, was shoulder-tapped by Jenna to join the programme. He had been interested in the art of coffee making since Year 8. Although he only drinks decaf, he would make trim cappuccinos for his dad at home. Nathanial quickly became a customer favourite.

“I learned that I have a lot more customer skills than I thought,” he says. “This is important because, even if the coffee might be good, if they have a bad experience with staff, they don’t want to come back.

“If you create a good first impression, they’ll come back, and they’ll keep buying, and then you can keep learning more about them. And then they become regulars, and you can know their name and order, and make the service even more friendly.”

A taste of the future

Nathanial hopes learning to make coffee on a commercial machine will provide a future job, including part-time work when he goes to university.

“The coffee cart has been beneficial for my future because it’s given me the ability to become a barista. I now have these skills, which means I can get hired more easily,” he says.

Cromwell College ākonga Nathanial has passed his Level 2 barista course.

Although he says he still needs to practise his latte art, Nathanial is happy with the texture of the milk he steams now.

“I’ve always enjoyed school and worked hard, but especially on the days when I work the coffee cart, it adds a little bit of extra excitement for that day,” says Nathanial, who has since passed his Level 2 barista course through Otago Polytechnic.

Alongside the locally roasted coffee, students sell Sanga’s Pies and The Cake Lab cookies, both produced by Cromwell businesses. “We’ve got a really amazing community here, and the cart is one of the ways we can bring the community and school together,” says Jenna, adding that even Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley and councillor Sarah Browne have stopped by for a coffee.

“We’re a real trades town, and we thought having a smoko place would help build that good rapport, showing what the school is doing.”

Jenna, who runs the pathways programme, formerly the Central Otago Youth Employment Programme (COYEP), says her job is “to give students as many tasters of work as I can” and the coffee cart is just one example of work experience.

She says the coffee cart has provided a successful whole-school approach.

Last year, the art department designed the logo for the cart and the business studies class ran a Matariki event. Accounting students organised budgeting and the financials.

“The food cart has been used hugely for school fundraising too,” says Jenna.

Opening opportunities for rangatahi

Over the years in her role, Jenna has taken her students to visit local and regional workplaces, from farms to corporate roles, and even the Clyde Dam.

“Students get to see the different types of avenues out there for themselves. It’s not just confined to what they’re told is available as a job.”

It starts in Year 10 at Cromwell College, when Jenna identifies those who may be interested in learning about construction and the trades. The Year 10 pathways programme is funded by the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust.

These students then spend a term working with the Cromwell Menz Shed, a group of local retired tradespeople. Together, the group created a four-by-four metre cabin over 12 weeks in 2023. Last year, they created planter boxes to sell.

“There is huge community buy-in with this initiative,” says Jenna.

Students Cooper, Travis, Jesse and Lockie with members of the Cromwell Menz Shed.

Student Travis took part in the programme as a Year 10 student in 2025. Working with a Menz Shed member, he and another student helped to build six planter boxes.

“They taught me some stuff that I didn’t know,” he says. “I was quite bad at using a router, and so I learned how to router better. They gave me tips and showed me how to do it.”

Having done some building work before with his grandfather, Travis knows it’s something he quite enjoys.

“But I’d like to try something new and see if I like that more than building,” he says. Jenna says that’s the point of the programme for rangatahi.

“Unless you try, you just don’t know what’s out there, and there are so many industries here that students aren’t aware of.”

Travis has also completed farm work experience at Tinwood Farm.

“I enjoy it because I’m not sitting in a chair all day. I can’t sit still for an hour. I have to start moving, and the farming allows that,” he says.

Pathways to the future, led by a community

Through the coffee cart and trades work experience, Year 10 students get a taster of whether Cromwell College’s Year 11 pathways programme will be the right fit for them.

The programme, which is funded by Cromwell College and the Central Lakes Trust, is one of the six subject options that students can choose for NCEA Level 1. They have four periods a week taught by Jenna, and a day of work experience on Fridays.

Each term changes to a different industry, so rangatahi can try a variety of jobs.

“The community offers so much work experience. Local businesses are always willing to give a student a chance, as they’ve been there themselves and see themselves in the students. Somebody gave them a chance, and now they want to give back,” says Jenna.

By the end of the year, the Year 11 ākonga will have gained 34 NCEA Level 1 credits, alongside skills in CV writing, workplace communication, and health and safety. The school also has liaison visits from tertiary providers.

Last year, many students transitioned into an apprenticeship, says Jenna. The remaining students “loved learning and re-engaged with school again for 2026 to begin their NCEA Levels 2 and 3”.

She says this is a win, with each ākonga feeling empowered to take control of their futures.

Linking her students with local jobs in the community also fosters a sense of belonging, she adds.

“The students may travel after school, but they will know there will always be a place to come back to.”