Sports kids race in to help school move

When sports' fans put their mind to it, they can make a game out of anything.
The Whangarei School of Emerging Talent  began its  move from  old headquarters at Kensington Park to its  new premises on Deveron Rd this week. 
Staff were pleased but not entirely surprised to find the school students pitching in to help.
"The kids have been so excited about moving to the new school that they've come in during their holidays to help us out and put up the new furniture,"  school director Sharyn Thomas said.
Thomas was also less than surprised to discover that a book had soon sprung up among the students to see who could assemble a desk the quickest.
"They're typical athletes, always turning everything into a competition or a time trial, the first desk they did took about an hour but now the record is down to 13 minutes," she laughed.
The school has been on the lookout for more permanent premises since it opened its doors last year and when Thomas noticed a "For Let" sign in front of the building, which had previously housed the Whangarei Hearing Association, it seemed like a sign.
"It was pure luck really, we felt we were beginning to outgrow the clubrooms and when we checked it out, we realised it would be perfect, so it was meant to be," Thomas said.
While there were some regrets about leaving their former premises, the ground floor of the Whangarei Marist clubrooms in Kensington, there were also  benefits.
"We're able to have extra teaching rooms, as well as having more storage space, and the new building is a lot closer to the gym the students use at the Aquatic Centre," she said.
The closure of Okara Park for renovations this year has meant that a lot of  activities  have been switched to Kensington Park, with much of it centred at the Marist clubrooms.
Thomas said that the support from the Marist club had been tremendous from the start and they hoped the relationship would continue now they had left the premises.
The new school is not huge but has more options open to it to expand than the old premises.
Eight of the  26 students will graduate from the school this year and applications are  open for the sports and performing arts academy.