You arrive at Haeata with your own strengths, interests, experiences and ideas about where you might want to go.
Your learning should reflect that.
International students become part of everyday Haeata classes and our wider learning community from the beginning. As you settle in, we work alongside you to understand what you enjoy, where you need support and what you want your time at Haeata to help you achieve.
From academic subjects and English-language support to practical learning, specialist programmes and future pathways, there is more than one way to learn here.
The goal is not simply to complete subjects.
It is to discover what you are capable of.
Learning in another language can feel challenging at first.
You may understand the lesson but still be searching for the words to explain your idea.
You may know the answer but need confidence to put your hand up.
You may understand everyday English but find the language used in a particular subject unfamiliar.
That is normal.
Our English-language support helps international students develop the language they need for learning, friendships and everyday life in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Support works alongside your wider school programme and is shaped around what you need.
The goal is not simply better English.
It is helping you become confident enough to participate fully in Haeata life.
Develop practical academic and everyday English that helps you understand, communicate and learn with confidence.
Build confidence to speak, ask questions, share ideas and contribute in class and beyond.
Receive English-language support alongside your individual learning pathway as your confidence and independence grow.
Some students learn best when they can make, design, test and create.
At Haeata, learning does not always happen in a traditional classroom. Our flexible learning spaces allow students to work independently, collaborate with others and take part in practical learning.
Students may have opportunities to explore areas such as technology, hospitality, sport, performance, design and specialist programmes. In our Makerspace, students can investigate their own ideas, build prototypes and turn questions into real projects.
An important idea in Haeata's Cultural Narrative is Rākaihautūtanga - giving students opportunities to “pick up their own kō” and take an active role in their learning.
In simple terms, this means we want students to become curious and confident learners who can ask:
What interests me?
What could I create?
How could I improve this?
Where could this take me?
Kaiako (teachers) are there to teach, guide and support you, while also giving you opportunities to explore your own interests.
Haeata's learning spaces also reflect the history, culture and identity of our local community. Today they are filled with student artwork, projects and ideas - showing the contribution of the students who learn here.
At Haeata, learning is not only about finding the right answer. It is also about discovering what you can do with what you learn.
Programme availability depends on year level, timetable, suitability and current school offerings.
The Services Programme uses challenge, teamwork, responsibility and service to help students develop confidence, discipline and leadership through practical experience. Haeata's existing programme is supported through links with the New Zealand Defence Force Youth Development Unit South.
For students with a strong interest in sport, the Sports Performance Programme creates opportunities to develop as an athlete while also exploring learning and possible futures connected with sport.
Haeata's Hospitality Programme gives senior students practical learning in a commercial kitchen under specialist guidance. Students can also gain authentic experience through catering and hosting school events - connecting classroom learning with the realities of hospitality, food service and working with others.
Language, culture and identity are part of learning here.
Haeata is home to two specialist bilingual learning pathways: Kōmanawa, our te reo Māori provision, and L’Aurore, our French-English bilingual programme.
Together, they add another dimension to the cultural life of our campus. International students may learn alongside students who move naturally between languages, cultures and different ways of seeing the world.
Kōmanawa is Haeata’s Year 1-10, Level 2 Māori immersion provision. Learning is grounded in te ao Māori, with te reo Māori used for around 50–80% of the learning day and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa guiding the curriculum.
Relationships, identity, culture and wellbeing are central to Kōmanawa. Ākonga are encouraged to become confident thinkers and learners while strengthening their connection with te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, whānau, iwi and community.
For international students, the presence of Kōmanawa also means that te reo Māori and tikanga Māori are visible, heard and valued as part of everyday life at Haeata.
L’Aurore is Haeata’s French-English bilingual learning programme, established in 2025 with the support of FRENZ. It gives eligible students the opportunity to learn the New Zealand Curriculum through both French and English.
Approximately half of the learning programme is delivered in French and half in English, with the aim of helping students develop confidence and academic capability in both languages. The programme also connects with Christchurch’s wider French-speaking community.
L’Aurore now sits alongside Kōmanawa and Haeata’s English-medium learning, making multilingual and multicultural learning a visible part of our school community. The Education Review Office specifically recognises Haeata as providing English-medium education alongside bilingual Māori learning in Kōmanawa and bilingual French learning in L’Aurore.
CURIOSITY CAN TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE UNEXPECTEDYou may arrive already knowing exactly what you enjoy.
Or you may discover it here.
Haeata's learning spaces give students opportunities to make, design, investigate and create. In the Makerspace, for example, students can work on their own inquiries or take part in specialist learning, with some projects developing into business ideas and student-led ventures.
That is part of what learning should do.
Not simply give you answers.
Give you reasons to keep asking questions.
As you move into the senior years, the question gradually changes.
It is no longer only:
“What subjects should I take?”
It becomes:
“Where could this take me?”
Senior students are supported to think about the pathway beyond school and to build a learning programme that helps them move towards it. Current Haeata provision includes personalised academic planning, links with tertiary providers, external learning opportunities and, for some senior students, dual-enrolment or Gateway experiences.
Your future does not have to look like anybody else's.
Build the academic foundations, subject knowledge and confidence needed to explore university or other tertiary study.
Develop practical skills, qualifications and experiences that can help connect school learning with employment, vocational education and trade pathways.
Explore how your interest in sport might develop through performance, coaching, further study or other sport-related opportunities.
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIESDevelop the confidence, skills and perspective to take what you have learned into opportunities in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.
Sometimes the most important part of learning is discovering something about yourself.
A subject you did not expect to enjoy.
A skill you did not know you had.
The confidence to ask a question.
An idea worth exploring.
A direction for what comes next.
At Haeata, we want your learning journey to help you leave with more than credits, grades or qualifications.
We want you to understand more about what interests you, what you can contribute and where your learning could take you next.
Ask questions, try new things and discover what is possible at Haeata.
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