Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Co-located colleges: ‘This is our opportunity’
Blenheim is facing a 50-year decision on the future of secondary education in the region – and to have a say, residents have to voice it soon.
In four years, the two singlesex colleges in Blenheim will be brought together on one site, a $63 million co-located campus.
The move, announced by thenEducation Minister Hekia Parata in 2015, is the biggest shake-up of secondary education in Blenheim since 1963.
That was the year Marlborough Girls’ College was set up, bringing to an end more than half a century of co-education at what is now Marlborough Boys’ College.
But by 2021, young men and women will again be taught on the same campus, but where that it is and what it will look like remains to be seen.
Since Parata made her announcement in November 2015, staff from both colleges have gone on fact-finding missions looking at other schools around the country.
They have also thrown open the conversation to the wider community, to seek their input on the aspirations they hold for their children and how they should be taught.
Last month, community leaders were invited to give their take on the future of the co-located campus, which was expected to last for at least the next 50 years.
A website has been developed for people to stay engaged with the process and give feedback, and next week public workshops will be held for people to have their say.
‘‘One of the challenges we’ve got right now is people thinking 2021 is a long way away so they’ll do it later,’’ Boys’ College deputy principal Michael Heath says.
‘‘But actually, 2017, this is our opportunity, this is the time we can speak up as a community and as schools and students to say this is what we think is important for education in Marlborough.’’
The colleges have until the end of November to submit their briefs to the ministry, which will be used to inform the design of the new campus.
One of the big changes will undoubtedly be a shift in teaching style, away from the traditional approach of a single teacher speaking to a roomful of students at desks.
Michael says the Boys’ College already has ‘innovative learning environments’ in place, citing the example of two science classrooms joined together by a glass break-out room.
Another change is the model encapsulated by the ‘New Zealand School of Winegrowing’, where students will learn traditional subjects in a practical context.
Both are likely to be included in the design of the new campus, but first the community needs to have its say.
‘‘This is the only chance for us to have that really up-front input,’’ Michael says.
‘‘But actually, 2017, this is our opportunity, this is the time we can speak up as a community and as schools and students to say this is what we think is important for education in Marlborough.’’