Otamatea High School offers students a broad, balanced curriculum with programmes covering all of the eight learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum: English, Mathematics and Statistics, The Arts, Science, Health and Physical Education, Social Sciences, Technology and Learning Languages.
Years 7 - 8
In Years 7 and 8 Otamatea High School students form our junior syndicate, led by our syndicate head Nyree Alcock. These students cover the full curriculum, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy. As a high school, we are able to offer a full range of technology subjects to these students, including food, digital technology and hard materials technology. These students also spend two hours per week learning science in our well-equipped science labs. All students also learn Te Reo Maori and either Spanish or French.
In years 9 and 10 students continue to cover the full curriculum, but they get to choose their option subjects. These include the full range of technology subjects (hard materials, engineering, food, digital), magazine design, green to gold, business studies, art, drama, music, Spanish and Te Reo Maori. In 2019 a number of exciting cross curricula courses are also being offered to students. From Term 3, 2021 Year 9 curriculum is taught within contextual topics e.g: 'Discovering the Pacific'.
Senior students study towards NCEA qualifications. Year 11s take English, mathematics and science plus three option subjects. Year 12s take six option subjects and Year 13s select five or six option subjects. We offer over 60 different senior courses across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 as well as providing distance learning opportunities to students through the correspondence school. Senior students can also complete courses outside school, gain valuable work experience and work towards national qualifications at the same time.
Through our Self-Directed Pathways programme senior students also have the option of working independently on an area of their choice while simultaneously gaining work experience through the Gateway programme.
We have three academies at school. The primary industries academy combines classroom study with on-the-job learning and works alongside NCEA, allowing students to work towards a National Certificate in Agriculture or Horticulture. The hospitality academy also combines classroom study with on-the-job learning, with these students able to work towards a National Certificate in Hospitality. The third academy is our construction/engineering academy, where students can gain industry based qualifications to aid them in their chosen path.