Pupils aim to nail their new NCEA assignment

Massey students Harley Kaponga (left) and Cassidy Hau will build a home as part of the NCEA course. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A group of secondary school students are embarking on an ambitious project to build a three-bedroom home in six months.

The Year 12 and 13 students enrolled fulltime in carpentry at Massey High School's trades academy, called the Auckland West Vocational Academy, will build the 120sq m cedar weatherboard house on the school's grounds.

Students from the previous two years were involved in building two 65sq m minor dwellings at the school. The first was relocated to a Housing New Zealand property in Papakura at the end of 2012 and the second is to be sold on Trade Me next month to make way for the new build.

The tutor in charge of carpentry, civil construction and infrastructure at Massey High School, Chris Skinner, said the new three-bedroom, two-bathroom house had already attracted a lot of interest.

The 15 students have chosen to study carpentry fulltime and have spent the first half of the year in the classroom learning theory and practising skills in the workshop before starting to build next month.

"We are aiming it so when these young guys leave they are actually valuable to the employer," said Mr Skinner. "They know they have to turn up every day, they know they have to be on time, they know they have to conform with the health and safety requirements, they know they have to conform with the employer's requirements and rules and regulations as well."

Year 12 student Harley Kaponga, 17, said he was one year closer to being a builder because he would have continued doing the normal curriculum if the course had not been available.

"I find this better than normal school. It's a change from school - it's challenging."

Cassidy Hau, 17, said it had given him the motivation and qualifications he needed to get on to a carpentry course at Unitec.

Massey High School principal Bruce Ritchie said the programme had been hugely successful.

The academy is one of 22 trades academies run in partnership with secondary schools and tertiary providers and receives more than $50 million a year from the Ministry of Education under its Youth Guarantee Initiative to make learning relevant to students so they stayed engaged at school and did not drop out without gaining qualifications.