Our Junior College curriculum serves the student rather than the other way around. We focus on bringing the curriculum to the student in a way that engages with their world, helps them to make sense of it, and broadens their perspectives. Our learners know that “the stories we tell ourselves shape our future”, and they are supported by caring teachers to intentionally shape their futures, to take initiative, to set and achieve personal goals, and to solve real life problems.
Our Learning Environment
Horizon College is fortunate in being able to remain small with a friendly, family atmosphere which comes from teachers and students knowing each other well. Every student at Horizon is nurtured and their skills and talents fostered. Students have every opportunity to contribute through participation, service and leadership.
Specialist teachers work alongside formation teachers to provide rich learning experiences with real life outcomes. All of this takes place in a fun and open space that allows for students to work inside, outside, through workshops and independent or group work.
Horizon College has:
Growing Young Contributors
At Horizon, we seek to create an environment in which children and young people want to connect with God, self and others in meaningful ways as a normal part of life. Inspired by the life of Jesus and rooted strongly in our Christian heritage, our special character is our main point of difference.
Horizon is small and well-resourced so we can help learners thrive:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
Teaching and learning at Horizon College is not primarily taught in strictly isolated subjects that stop and start, but often in connected investigations of core compulsory learning areas (Science, Social Sciences, English, Technologies and the Arts). This helps learners to see the links between learning areas and to see the relevance and value of their learning.
Teachers equip learners with subject-specific knowledge and skills to a high standard within these connected investigations ensuring that NZ Curriculum requirements are met and that they are prepared for future learning, while developing into confident and competent young people.
Teachers have strong relationships with our learners, respecting their thoughts and ideas, encouraging their development, and stretching them towards improvement and success.
A learner at Horizon is on a lifelong learning journey, and not just learning to pass tests. We know that learning, applied to real world and open-ended situations, is most easily recalled, and most valuable to life.
Learning at Horizon has value beyond the curriculum or classroom. We foster higher order thinking and problem-based learning that contributes to our community. In recent years our college learners were part of a council playground design and rebuild which included research and making submissions to the council, and involved English, Maths, Art, Social Studies. They have also worked with scientists from Auckland University to make hydrophones, gather data about marine sounds and present information of value to the science community (Physics, Biology, Technology, English, Mathematics).
We are well connected with experts in our local community who often inspire our learners through guest lectures, interviews, discussions and projects.
Our enriched programme provides all students in Years 7 - 13 the opportunity to follow options. These are delivered in two slots per week. Each term students select from a range of options, delivered by both our highly qualified teachers and experts from our local community.
Options will include, but are not limited to:
Sports Options
In addition to in-class learning, we offer the following optional learning extras during Years 7-13:
“Here we see a really great, collaborative, open learning environment. Kids are free to work at their own pace with the supervision of their teachers and collaborate and mingle with their peers. I think that’s a closer reflection of the real world than perhaps we used to have as kids growing up.”
“Choosing Horizon College was one of the best things we did and throughout his eighteen months now he’s been absolutely amazing. He’s actually excited to get here in the morning and then he’s excited to carry on that conversation at the end of the day.”
Horizon teachers and staff are selected for their love for children and young people, love for teaching and for learning and commitment to creating an environment in which our learners might want to learn and to connect with God in some way.
