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An education consultant and former principal hopes to open a charter school for up to 120 Year 7 to 10 students at the old Ransom Wines site, south of Warkworth, early next year.
Alwyn Poole says the former winery in Valerie Close would be ideal for children, as well as for hosting events outside of school hours.
This would be the third charter school Poole has established – in 2002, he wrote a project-based curriculum model that resulted in Mount Hobson Middle School, where he was principal for 18 years.
Two more schools based on the same system were later opened in south and west Auckland, following charter school legislation in 2012.
Poole, who lives at Dairy Flat, says Warkworth is the logical choice for the next new middle school, now that charter schools are back on the government agenda.
“The new charter school model is more about finding places where there’s a demand to what’s already being offered in the area,” he says. “Warkworth is a growing place and where people are seeing a need – people have already reached out directly to me.”
Poole’s teaching model splits the school day, with academic work in the morning and arts and activities in the afternoon, and there are just 15 students per class.
“We work on direct teaching of five subjects in the morning – English, maths, science, technology and social studies. There are eight five-week projects a year and subject teaching is done in those thematic contexts, with each project covering all subject areas,” he says.
“Then in the afternoon, it’s art, music, physical education, community learning (field trips and guests) and community service.”
The cross-curricular projects cover a broad range of diverse topics, from architecture, animals or archaeology to Shakespeare, statistics and sport.
Poole believes this project-based model works far better for Years 7 to 10 than the current primary, intermediate and senior regime.
“The main aim is to get kids to the end of Year 10 in superb shape to excel in their final three years,” he says. “In the high school model, they’re often pretty jaded by the time they get to Year 12. This version gives students the opportunity to really get stuck in for their last three years.”
The new school would be fees-free and government-funded, which Poole says should be more than sufficient, not only to pay staff well, but to provide items most parents normally have to provide themselves.
“In the two schools in south and west Auckland, we provided uniform, stationery and IT devices,” he says. “That’s not a response to poverty. Although some families do need help, it’s more to take out the ‘micro-aggression’ children get during the day – it takes away the kid feeling stressed or dreading the day because they think they’ve got the wrong socks or device.”
Although not finalised, Poole says the proposed Valerie Close location would be ideal for the new middle school.
“It’s a lovely site. We’ll also use it for weddings, conferences and concerts, which is something that schools don’t always do well, but it’s a resource that’s vacant most days after four and at weekends,” he says.
“There are nice deck areas and beautiful open spaces that are ideal for events and for children.”
If all goes to plan, Poole plans to open the Warkworth school in the new year. In the meantime, he is fielding enquiries from local families and potential staff.
Info: Email alwyn.poole@gmail.com
