Curriculum

View the full Whitby Collegiate Curriculum and Course Planner.

The culture of Whitby Collegiate is one where students, supported by their teachers, are open about their desire for academic and personal achievement and work positively to reach their goals. Students are proud of their own successes and the success of others.

Academic programmes have been developed in line with the New Zealand Curriculum and cover the essential learning areas of the Arts, English, Health and Physical Education, Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, and Technology. In addition, Religious Education is an explicit programme of learning. In Years 7 to 10 there are numerous opportunities for cross-curricular studies. We aim to provide every student with a broad, well-balanced, general education commensurate with their ability.

As a fully BYOD school, all students are expected to bring their own digital devices. Technology enriches the learning process and empowers students to interact with the local and global community, and a variety of approaches are used regularly across all curriculum areas as tools for learning. Read more on Teaching and Learning with BYOD.

Although there is no formal selection process for entry to Whitby Collegiate, we maintain a fine tradition of students achieving personal excellence. This can be attributed to the climate of high expectations shared by staff and students, the strong system of pastoral care, the challenges offered for independent creative thought and action, the range of co-curricular activities and the opportunities to participate in and contribute to local, national, and international forums.

Academic and pastoral staff work together to ensure that the progress of individual students is carefully monitored, that their particular needs are met, and their passions are acknowledged and fostered. Provision is made for gifted students. Learning support is also available for students with additional learning needs.

 

Qualifications

At Whitby Collegiate, students work towards achievement in the national qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA): Level 1 at Year 11, Level 2 at Year 12, and Level 3 at Year 13. NCEA is an internationally recognised qualification, which can be used to gain entry to tertiary institutes around the world. It is a standards-based qualification, assessed internally through coursework and also by external examinations in November. Students usually take seven subjects at Year 11, six subjects at Year 12 and five subjects in Year 13, and are motivated to achieve their NCEA with a Merit or Excellence endorsement.

An additional option is the New Zealand Scholarship examinations which are designed to challenge top academic students in Level 3 subjects.

NZ Scholarship examinations are aimed at the highly motivated, independent learner and are supported by small group tutorials, online learning or additional work done out of regular class time.

Additional information can be obtained about these qualifications on the following websites:

 

Choosing Subjects

During Term 3 of each year, we ask students to indicate subject choices for the following year. Our timetable is developed around these choices. We endeavour to accommodate all students’ preferences but this is not always possible. Students are advised to choose carefully as, once option lines are set and classes established, changes may not easily be accommodated. Subject teachers, Tutor Teachers, the Heads of Faculty, and the Deputy Principal (Academics) are all available to advise on subject choices.

Course Structure

  • All students study English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Visual Arts, Digital Technology, Religious Education, Music, Physical Education and Health, Technology, Performing Arts, and Spanish. Year 7-9 students also study Te reo Māori.

  • All students study English, Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences, Religious Education, and Physical Education and Health. Optional subjects are chosen from Visual Arts, Music, Digital Technology, Design & Visual Communication, Performing Arts, Te Reo Māori, and Spanish. Year 10 students sit formal end of year school examinations in English, Science, and Mathematics. End of year examinations may also be offered in other subjects.Year 10 students may begin working towards achieving the Literacy and Numeracy corequisite standards for NCEA Level 1.

  • All students study towards NCEA Level 1 in English, Mathematics, and Science. Three optional NCEA subjects are chosen from Visual Arts, Music, History, Geography, Spanish, Economics, PE, Digital Technology, and Design & Visual Communication. 

    In addition, all students participate in Religious Education, and a Senior Health and Physical Education programme.

  • All students take NCEA Level 2 English then choose five additional NCEA options from Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geography, History, Economics, Spanish, Photography, Painting, Music, Physical Education, Digital Technology, and Design & Visual Communication. Students  also participate in a Religious Education and a Senior Physical Education programme.

  • All students study towards NCEA Level 3 in five subjects chosen from: English, Calculus, Statistics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geography, History, Economics, Photography, Painting, Physical Education, Spanish, Music, Digital Technology, and Design & Visual Communication. In addition, all students participate in a Religious Education and a Senior Health and Physical Education programme. The New Zealand Scholarship examinations are additional qualifications which target high achieving students in individual subjects.

Note:

  • Multi-level courses may be scheduled for students with an advanced background in a particular subject if the timetable allows.

  • Small classes may combine year levels in order to be viable. Insufficient demand for a subject may mean that it cannot be timetable.

  • If a student wishes to study a subject not offered at Whitby Collegiate it may be possible for that study to be undertaken through Te Kura. Additional fees will be incurred for this service.

  • Learning Support is available for students with additional learning needs, and all Special Assessment Conditions (SACs) are provided.