Turning boys into leaders

LIKELY LEADER: Te Piha Niha hopes the Leadership Academy of A Company will help him achieve his goals in music and drama.

LIKELY LEADER: Te Piha Niha hopes the Leadership Academy of A Company will help him achieve his goals in music and drama.

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Lifting the success rates of Whangarei's Maori boys and creating role models is the aim of a new academy starting this week.

The Leadership Academy of A Company is a live-in programme for future male Maori
leaders, following in the footsteps of the renowned 28 Maori Battalion A Company.

Run by He Puna Marama Trust, the academy started fulltime on Sunday.

Whangarei’s high failure rate for Maori boys was the inspiration for the academy, says trust chief executive officer Raewyn Tipene.

A 2007 report showed 53 percent of Maori boys were failing NCEA level 1 – but in Whangarei the failure rate was 80 percent, she says.

Building resilience in Maori boys is a key part of the academy.

"We wanted a place where our boys can be Maori, can be male and achieve what they wanted to achieve."

Boys attend their own high school during the day but work with an educationalist to ensure they’re keeping up and being extended if necessary.

Military-style discipline and physical training, plus support to excel in extra-curricular activities is also an important part of the programme, says Ms Tipene.

Sixteen-year-old Te Piha Niha hopes the academy will help him achieve his goals in drama and music, plus continue his success in the NCEA.

The Kamo High School student has been chosen as the leader of platoon Katipo after an intensive two-week selection course and badging ceremony.

Already he says the other boys are like family and the military-style training is plenty of fun.

"Because we were doing something everyday, when I came home I was bored and looking forward to it starting," he says.

"I guess I’ll miss my family but I’ll have to grow out of it. When I go to uni they’re not going to be there helping," he says.

Ms Tipene says the boys are put forward by their schools, chosen for their leadership potential plus academic ability or talent in any field.

They attend the academy during the week and go home for the weekend.

"There is research showing boys with potential need to be with their peers, with cohorts thinking the same," she says.

"They all keep in touch and stay in contact with their family but at the same time we’re slowly building that character and skills to survive."

The academy is funded by ASB Community Trust’s new Maori and Pasifika Education Initiative – one of just seven programmes to receive funding out of 300 applicants.

This year there are 18 boys at the academy from Whangarei high schools and the academy aims to eventually expand to 60 places.

- © Fairfax NZ News