Maori boys' lives thrust into limelight

13-year-old Jazz is the subject of a documentary filmed at Hastings Boys' High School over a year, which will be screening tonight.

A documentary following the story of four Maori boys, a passionate principal and local education success will put Hastings Boys' High School on the map.

Statistically, Maori boys are three times more likely to leave school with no formal qualifications than non-Maori, but by targeting this issue, principal Robert Sturch is turning around a legacy of under-achievement.

Hastings Boys' High, founded in 1904, was selected as the backdrop for Maori Television's Educating Tama, because of its strong link to traditional educational values and the fact its roll was almost 50 per cent Maori.

"We spoke to [principal] Rob Sturch about what he was doing to get the results, we wanted to meet some of the boys and follow their progress," local documentary film maker Kathleen Mantel said.

The result showed four boys of different ages, plucked from obscurity, and filmed for an entire year.

Jazz is a 13-year-old Ross shield athlete, who went from a small intermediate to being one of 750 students.

He soon realises success at high school requires more than rugby talent.

Ezra, 15, is slowly moving out from the shadow of his father, but he's struggling with where he's headed, and the consequences his decisions may have.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old twins Peter and Chesser Cowan are on the brink of a future they've been preparing for their whole lives.

"They are just average boys. We followed them in their lives at school, at home and just got an insight into their world, what I really found goes right along with the research - they need to know they are not just a number, or a bum on a seat, teachers have to know more about them.

"They need a sense of belonging that's what I find really interesting, they are not just numbers, these rich worlds that they come from give them self worth."

It was also important to look at their varied backgrounds and how they reflected on the boys' education journey.

"Their heritage, their whanau - it's more than just maths and English, that's all important too but they get a lot more from engagement."

• The documentary Educating Tama will screen on Maori Television tonight, from 9.30.