Construction has started!
We are excited to share that construction on The Academy has finally begun, following the successful granting of resource consent by Auckland Council in June. This milestone marks a significant step forward after navigating the complexities of building in a residential area. A heartfelt thank you to our community members and neighbours who contributed to shaping our transport routes. Your input has helped us craft a robust traffic management plan that prioritises the safety and well-being of our students and neighbours.
Once the foundation work is complete, we’ll have a clearer timeline for construction and will confirm our opening date. Our goal remains to welcome students in Years 7 and 9 starting in 2027. We’ll share detailed enrolment, waitlist, and fee information in October through our upcoming newsletter.
Breaking ground at the building site (70 - 74 Hilling St, Titirangi) with board members Sam Crookes, Lara Collier, Tristan O'Hanlon, Ben Himme, Ella Philp and Jonathan Rogers.
School Design: A Glimpse into the Future
Here are some more recent renderings of The Academy’s campus at 70 - 74 Hilling St, Titirangi.
The main building will feature two cutting-edge wet science labs and two versatile classrooms, which will eventually serve as dedicated spaces for physics and technology. All rooms are designed to give teachers a lot of flexibility in how they use the space which will serve us well on Fridays when students work on science, engineering and programming based projects.
Phase 1 of the build is the main building. Phase two will see the rear building begin operation which will house a student common room, and outdoor area, as well as more staff facilities.
Phase 3 includes the construction of three additional classrooms on the West end of the site.
Gated access to Crum Park is at the rear of the site.
Professional artwork is currently being created which we will share in an upcoming newsletter (as well as some internal floor plans), but since we're so excited to share this, the third image is a quick AI render with the park surrounds (using a composite of the birds eye view of the school and Google Maps).
Welcoming our new Academic Board Member: Ella Philp
We are delighted to welcome Ella to The Academy’s academic board! A high-achieving medical student and award-winning scholar, Ella brings exceptional academic insight and a strong passion for education. As President of the New Zealand Orthopaedics Education Group, she has led national efforts to support future doctors and has developed teaching and assessment across university medical programmes. This includes being involved in training prospective medical students as lead instructor for many laboratory sessions in one of The University of Auckland's largest Health Science papers. We’re thrilled to have her energy, experience, and commitment to excellence guiding our work.
The Academy in the News: Radio NZ - Nine to Noon Interview with Kathryn Ryan
Founding Principal Tristan O’Hanlon and Board Member Jonathan Rogers recently joined Kathryn Ryan on RNZ’s Nine to Noon to discuss The Academy’s vision for a new kind of school. In the interview, they talk about the inspiration behind founding The Academy, their focus on sciences and computer programming, and the need for a more rigorous, future-focused STEM education. You can listen to the full interview here.
Education in the News: NCEA Being Replaced
Big news this week from the Government with a proposal for a new national curriculum and that NCEA Levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate.
We support a more prescribed curriculum in mathematics and science, and clearer signals for parents and employers. However, previous curriculum and NCEA reviews have often suffered from needless complexity, limited support, and a lack of coherent direction.
The success of this initiative will hinge on the calibre of those leading it, the extent to which deep subject expertise is prioritised, and the investment made in developing teacher capability and confidence for consistent, high-quality implementation (including initial teacher training). These last two points in particular have been lacking in past efforts.
This does not change The Academy’s commitment to delivering the Cambridge curriculum at Years 12 and 13, which undergoes regular subject-specific reviews involving industry and academic experts, is benchmarked worldwide, and provides robust support for schools and teachers through quality resources and training.
Research Spotlight: Optimising Mathematics Learning
A recent study published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest sheds light on how children learn math most effectively. The research highlights a straight-forward approach that begins with conceptual understanding of basic facts, the short bursts of timed practice to build fluency, and finally reflective discussions to solidify and deepen the knowledge.
For a concise overview, check out this summary: Science explains how children best learn math.
We look forward to keeping you updated as we move closer to opening The Academy. There have been many inquiries about when we will be offering further after-school/weekend/holiday programming courses and our goal is to start these up again in November this year (details in the next Newsletter). Thank you for your continued support!
Warm regards,
Tristan O’Hanlon
Principal, The Academy