Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti

Infobox NZ school
name = Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti (UPT)
badge =
motto = Safety first, respect always
established = 2003
principal = Vincent Dobbs
address = 263 High Street,
Christchurch,
New Zealand
type = State Co-educational Secondary, years 9-15, Designated Special Charter school
roll = 392
decile = 6
MOE = 483
homepage = [http://www.unlimited.school.nz/ www.unlimited.school.nz]

Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti (UPT) is a relatively new state secondary school located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand.

It was established in 2003 by the Christchurch-based Learning Discovery Trust [http://www.discoverylearning.co.nz/setting-up-state-school.html] which had earlier setup the primary Discovery1 school, and is one of just eleven schools running under the "Designated Special Character" criteria of the Education Act 1989, Section 156 [http://www.discoverylearning.co.nz/setting-up-state-school.html#156] : "...The special character of schools established under this section is not specified in the Act, and parents may propose any desirable special character as long as no other local school is already delivering an education reflecting the same special character...".

This "special character" element is similar in some respects to the "charter school" system in the United States.

The school started with just 40 students (known as the foundation forty) and now has a roll of around 390 students, aged from 12 to 18 years of age.

Distinctive Elements

* Students can follow their own pathways of learning. The school uses the term 'Learner Directed Experience' to distinguish between learning taking place in a class and learning driven or directed by the student. Often called Inquiry Learning, this means that students can opt to work outside of classes and courses on their own passions and interests. In practice the amount of time given over to this individual, and often independent, style of learning varies according to the interests and maturity of each student. Examples of long-term group Inquiries include the Audiodreams project--an event management company being run by students during school hours--and the more recent cF LAN party events.
* The school year at Unlimited is divided into seven or eight half-term blocks of four to six weeks. Students take courses in subjects for the duration of these half-term blocks, or can enroll for longer periods up to a full academic year.
* Students are vertically grouped in homebases (similar to form classes). The homebases have up to 14 students in them.
* Students are given half-an-hour per week to meet with their learning advisor to discuss and progress their learning.
* The school is based directly in the central business district, and has no grounds. Thus, they make use of community resources, such as the nearby Hagley Park, and the central Christchurch City Library.

The school is resourced with high-end information and communications technology (ICT), all students have the opportunity to gain qualifications in the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). There are a range of secondary school subjects on offer including English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Computing, Drama, Dance, and Physical and Outdoor education. In addition to these subjects, UPT offers a range of courses that are not normally provided at secondary schools. These include Entrepreneurship, Holistic programmes, Philosophy, and Videogame design.

Courses provided by outside providers are also offered, for example Unlimited offers students the ability to participate in courses taught by Natcoll Design Technology, the Christchurch Polytechnic and Canterbury University. They also offer a Cisco networking course with the ability to gain a Cisco Certified Network Associate qualification taught by Aranui High School

External links

* School Website: http://www.unlimited.school.nz
* ERO report: [http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/reppub.nsf/0/9E4839924DD98167CC2571AB000CCE4A/$File/483.htm?Open Education Review Report, May 2006]
* [http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers/details.do?providerId=240101001 Provider details] at NZQA