Working with schools

We engage with schools in many ways including providing assistance with learning programmes and visiting schools to share information about study here.

School visits and expos

Our liaison staff tour the country twice a year to introduce high school students to the University and to help them plan what to study once they get here.

Check out our school visits and expos page for more information including visit dates.

Outreach programmes

Our outreach programmes support existing curriculum in schools and encourage young people to pursue tertiary study.

Business

The Wellington School of Business and Government provides a range of resources for commerce teachers to help transition students into university and further their own professional development.

You can also organise a field trip to the Business School that takes in Wellington’s sites of business and government.

Chinese language and culture

The University's Confucius Institute works to promote Chinese language and culture in New Zealand. The Institute actively assists schools in several ways including:

the Mandarin Language Assistants (MLAs) programme which places native-speaking language support in local classrooms
running Discover China! cultural days in schools
funding a school principals’ delegation and numerous school trips to China each year
providing language proficiency tests and other programmes.

Engineering and computer science

Our Wellington Faculty of Engineering runs an active school outreach programme in engineering and computer science that provides teachers and students with resources and information.

We also provide professional development to teachers in digital technology and technical support in using robotics and physical computing in their classroom practice. Each year we run a three-day Digital Technology conference called Computer Science 4 High Schools (CS4HS) which focuses on applying the digital technology curriculum and enhancing teacher capability. Contact pravin.vaz@vuw.ac.nz for more information.

Māori

The University’s Māori and Pasifika support service—Te Rōpū Āwhina Whānau—offers an outreach programme for schools and community groups. Āwhina runs a range of fun activities during the year that schools can tap into such as 'Tuhono i te Ao' which combines science with Māori and Pacific culture.

Music

The New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) has many school outreach activities that include an Indonesian gamelan workshop for school groups, open rehearsals, and free tickets for school students to NZSM events.

Email nzsmevents@vuw.ac.nz to find out more about these events.

Science

The University’s science outreach programme supports science education in schools throughout the country.

Our staff and students visit classrooms to share their research and enhance learning. We also provide free online curriculum-linked resources and data sets to support science education at all levels.

The Wellington Faculty of Science holds an annual open day for high school students, and visits schools up and down the country to talk to senior students about preparing for study at Victoria University of Wellington.

Two people in white lab coats speak to a group of seated high-school students — Victoria University of Wellington engagement coordinator Thom Adams and Dr Putri Fraser deliver a chemistry module for students at South Wellington Intermediate School.

Geography, Environment and Earth Science

School of Geography, Environment and Earth Science staff members can visit your school to talk about a range of topics, which are detailed on the School's website. You can also find blog posts and videos of several scientific cruises that have examined New Zealand’s sea, seafloor, and below.

Antarctica

Staff and students at the Antarctic Research Centre give talks to schools. Find a range of other resources, including videos and images, on their website.

Chemistry and Physics

The School of Chemical and Physical Sciences offers outreach educational programmes in Chemistry and Physics. These provide students with opportunities to visit the University and experience the excitement of experimental Chemistry and Physics at university level.

As well as the school outreach activities, we also run Teachers Days at the University. These events give teachers an opportunity to network and learn from each other, think about some of the latest developments in their chosen discipline, and discuss topical educational matters.

More information and resources are available on the School's website.

Two chemists in a lab pour blue liquid into a glass funnel — Dr Courtney Davis of the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences demonstrates an experiment at the SCPS Teachers Day.

We also have some Physics resources for speakers of te reo Māori available.

Other outreach activities

Individual departments sometimes run other one-off outreach events or activities. To find out whether the University offers any outreach activities in the subject you are interested in, contact the individual faculty or school.