At Okaihau College, Science is a compulsory subject for all Year 7 – 10 students and in the senior school, we have specialist teachers for the three science subjects, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
The Science Department is well resourced with three fully equipped laboratories. We have chromebooks, data projectors in each laboratory, and all the equipment to support the practical activities and experiments that are essential to the programs.
Our teachers are committed to providing meaningful, relevant courses that foster curiosity. In all topics in the junior school, teachers have memorable hands-on activities that excite and inform the students. Making, measuring, trialling, investigating, dissecting, modelling, observing and communicating are some of the skills that are developed. Not all learning takes place in the classroom. Appropriate trips and field work develop students’ understanding of science such as organisms and geology of the local area. All levels except Year 11 undertake a local field trip. The NCEA Level 2 Biology class visits Opito Bay to study the Rocky Shore Community.
We are proud of the high level of achievement in the NCEA Level 2 and 3 assessments in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Students receive individual attention and they feel well supported. Many graduates of our school have gained tertiary qualifications in medicine, engineering, geology, resource management and many other science fields. The feed-back we get when these past students visit our department is most rewarding