| 105 Edgecumbe College Redevelopment COMMUNITY Renovation work is well under way at Edgecumbe College with classrooms being brought up to current standards. books for every student in the school, a 3D printer, 16 Virtual Reality headsets,” says Mike with satisfaction. While the immediate focus on his arrival was bringing the school up to scratch in terms of its learning environment and resources, Mike Jackson was well aware that when it comes to learning opportunities there’s more to growth than bricks and mortar. “You can’t just lay all the blame on buildings obviously, and we realise that as a staff we take responsibility for what happens inside the school; that we need to make sure that we’re doing the very best job that we can with our students and our community, and that we’re meeting their needs. A big focus for us is around the curriculum particularly in terms of pathways for the future.” In a relatively short space of time the school has gone from being as Mike described it. “In such a poor state of repair and so poorly resourced you’d think twice about sending your kids here,” to a place where pupils are given the room and resources to thrive. In the end, says Mike, the Ministry of Education came through. “To give the Ministry its fair due they’ve put a lot of resources into the school. “So while it might have been slow coming in the past, that’s certainly not the case at the moment, they’re doing an amazing job.” Thanks no doubt to the new principal that took up the reins 18 months ago determined to bring the school onto an equal footing with any other school in the country.
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