Our Year 7-10 Middle School is one of only two in New Zealand to win international recognition from a prestigious Australian body.
St Margaret’s College has been named in the Adolescent Success Middle Years Schools of Excellence Programme, which is open to schools in New Zealand and Australia that educate students aged 10-15 years old.
Kathryn Gray, Head of Middle School, says the accolade recognises SMC as a leader in its field.
“I’m really proud of the programme we’ve developed for SMC Middle School students. While relatively rare in New Zealand, SMC has been intentional in establishing a Middle School that caters to the unique set of social, emotional and academic needs of students in Year 7-10.Girls in particular face huge challenges during this period, experiencing a huge range of significant physical, cognitive, emotional, social and moral changes, second only to the first five years of life. Our Middle School programme has been developed to support girls through these changes, while ensuring that they have the broadest range of academic, cultural and sporting activities to choose from.”
Kathryn Gray, Head of Middle School
Diana Patchett, Executive Principal says the accolade represents the efforts of the Middle School teaching team to develop empathetic, confident young women who strive to make a positive difference.
“We are fortunate to have teaching staff who are dedicated to meeting the specific requirements of our Middle School girls, and who have the best interests of our students and their families at heart. This is evidenced in the wide variety of school and community initiatives offered by our Middle School that focus on both learning and pastoral care. We are thrilled that SMC has received this recognition.”
Diana Patchett, Executive Principal
One example of an initiative introduced to support our Middle School students is The Rite Journey, a programme that guides our Year 10 students from adolescence into adulthood, and for which SMC is one of only six schools in Australasia to earn a Lead School Award from The Rite Journey.
Kathryn’s expertise was recognised last year when she was honoured with a prestigious national award from the Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ) for services to Middle School.
