A solid chance for student success

Media release – Otago Polytechnic
For immediate release, 10 November 2016

A solid chance for student success

You’ve heard of man caves and she sheds … well now there’s a penguin pad - all thanks to a group of keen high school students studying one day a week at Otago Polytechnic.

The nine students are part of the Otago Secondary-Tertiary College (OSTC) – a collaboration between Otago Polytechnic and high schools around Otago.

They’ve spent every Friday, since the beginning of the year, learning about construction and have built a garden shed for the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust. This will become a field shed at the Trust’s plant nursery in Company Bay.

After adding the finishing touches this Friday (between 9am-12pm), the students will join other OSTC students to attend a graduation at Otago Polytechnic to recognise their achievements over the year.

Students can choose a range of subjects at the OSTC, which is based at the Dunedin and Cromwell campuses. Courses include construction, carpentry, agriculture and cookery.

The OSTC has enjoyed real success with more than 90% of the students completing their course this year.

Raewyn Paviour, OSTC Operations Manager, says Otago Polytechnic is committed to growing the venture. “The partnership with secondary schools is going from strength to strength. The youth are staying in our region to study, and are gaining a great taste of options available to them as careers.”

“It’s fantastic to see students staying in study. Last year, 93% of our students went on to further education or employment, compared with 78% nationwide”.

Graduation ceremonies for the students across both campuses will take part on Friday 11th November at 1pm.

The Construction students will be finishing their shed at the Architecture, Building and Engineering building on Anzac Ave on Friday 11th November between 9-11:30am. The sheds are situated behind the building.

You can find more information about the Otago Secondary-Tertiary College on the Otago Polytechnic website: https://www.op.ac.nz/study/still-in-school/otago-secondary-tertiary-college/ and in the 2017 Programme Guide (attached).

-ENDS-

© Scoop Media