In mid-September 2013 it was announced that Vanguard Military School would be established and start operating as one of New Zealand’s first Partnership Schools. To set a senior secondary school up in just four months was not a small undertaking. At that point in September there were no staff, no building and no resources, just a contract to set about improving the lives of children who were not succeeding or not likely to, in their present school system.
Vanguard was established to provide a choice for parents and their children. Whatever your allegiance politically, we certainly can all agree that 20% of our children not achieving at school is way too high. Vanguard uses a military ethos. We have a high level of structured teaching, learning and discipline. This promotes teamwork and aims to eliminate the unsavoury aspects of school life and therefore provide a very safe learning environment. We know that Vanguard’s model of schooling does not suit everyone and we are okay with that as it is a choice to attend Vanguard. Everyone working here acknowledges that we are a very small piece of the education puzzle but we are determined to make a big difference to the lives of our students.
We have developed a culture of success since 2014 by driving home the message to the students to “Never Give Up” and by placing high expectations on them all to achieve. The results have been outstanding and a massive thank you must go to all the staff and students for their hard work and to the parents and our community of supporters who trusted and believed in us.
Initially as a new school, we had to prove ourselves. It was, therefore, immensely pleasing to gain a strong, positive review from ERO. All educational people are aware of how important an ERO review is and to have had such a strong and glowing report signified that our school is meeting the required standard. We also had to work closely with NZQA to gain consent to assess which allowed us to teach the New Zealand Curriculum and therefore work towards gaining NCEA for our students. We are proud to announce that after all these years, we are still receiving glowing reviews from ERO.
Our achievements in 2014 were simply outstanding and well above the national average. Since then, we have continued to produce excellent results in the following years. These statistics can be viewed under “Academics” here on our website.
Vanguard Military School teaches the New Zealand Curriculum to Year 11, 12 and 13 students with the specific aim of gaining NCEA and UE qualifications that students, parents, employers and other education providers (like universities) are looking for. We have one intake per year with new students starting their schooling in mid to late January. Enrolments open in March each year and must be submitted through the enrolment section of this website. The school has no zoning, so anyone is able to apply.
The school has made many friends in the community with participation in ANZAC Day Parades, Poppy Collections, providing half time entertainment at the U20 Rugby World Cup, participating in blood donations and assisting with Long Bay Primary’s Mud Rush. Sport Teams have been fielded with much success and we have hosted many visitors and dignitaries to our school. As of 2019, Vanguard Military School was reclassified as a Designated Character School.
Hopefully this will allow you to understand a little bit more about who we are and the heart behind what we do. We have our own traditions and culture and we feel that the school is well positioned to continue going from strength to strength.