Timo Becker
is Xplore’s Program Manager for our High School Programs and is based in our
office in Koln, Germany. This month he went out to New Zealand on a Fam Trip –
a familiarisation trip. In this blog
article Timo highlights what makes New Zealand unique and why it offers a
brilliant opportunity to our international students…
Our students
have the option of studying in New Zealand for between 1 and 4 terms. The school
facilities in the high schools we work with are impressive with a wide choice
of subjects available. The people of New Zealand are genuine and friendly and
the Maori culture is also very interesting. The scenery as we know from many
feature films is breathtaking with a mix of mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers,
coastline and forests alongside multicultural cities and picturesque towns.
When visiting
schools with a view to offering it to our students, we take into account the
local area, the school’s facilities and classrooms, learn about the international
mix of students and meet with the Principal and staff team.
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| Outdoor Education Class |
Starting in
the beautiful city of Auckland on the North Island, I visited 3 schools in Tauranga,
a bustling city in the Bay of Plenty. The Bay of
Plenty is comprised of a variety of unique destinations, from beautiful white
sand beaches to charming rural country towns. It is also the gateway to
White Island, New Zealand's only active marine volcano. Our partner
there showed me round the schools and I was soon taking part in an Outdoor Education class!
I then went
on to visit 2 schools in Auckland, these were very large as you might expect
from inner city schools but also very well equipped. There I met the International
Dean of a school and was treated to a barbeque.
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| Bay of Plenty |
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| Mayor of Wanganui |
Four hundred
kilometers south is Wanganui where I spent a week visiting 5 schools and meeting
the Principals of each school and the Mayor! On the Monday I was given a traditional Maori
welcome by 8 of the students, which was a great experience. I visited the
boarding school ‘Wanganui Collegiate’ and watched a drama rehearsal. In 1982
Prince Edward spent 2 terms at the college during his gap year. It is a very traditional English private
boarding school with 10% international student population.
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| Traditional Maori welcome |
Whilst here I
also had the opportunity to hike the Tongariro
Alpine Crossing, which spans the length of Mount Tongariro and is one of the most
popular day hikes in New Zealand. This
World Heritage Site was the scene for much of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
On 16th March I left for the South Island, with Nelson being my
first stop followed by Abel Tasmin National Park. Here I visited 2 more schools and met the
Principals. I then left for Dunedin to visit a further 5 schools. Here I caught up with two of our students studying
in high schools. They updated me on how they are getting on at school and with
their host families.
Before
I left, one of our partners in New Zealand gave me a ‘Pounamu’ pendent. This
traditional Maori gem plays a very important role in Maori culture.
It is considered a taonga (treasure) and is often presented as a gift to
visitors.
Back
in Germany I will now set to work on the new High School brochure, introducing
some new schools that I visited during this trip. It is very beneficial to view
schools in person and the information gathered will enable our staff in Koln
and Hamburg to help students decide which school is right for them as they embark on their international studies.
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