Sport in Education is about so much more than just getting high school students active, it’s about providing a practical link between the wellbeing of rangatahi and their education.

In 2013 two Aotea College students, Blake Shippam and Wade Bowles, were showing increasing disengagement with their Year 13 Media Studies class. The Media Studies teacher got together with the First 15 coach, and Celia Fleck (then HOD Health and PE at Aotea College) to devise a way to help the boys re-engage with class and get them excited about learning.

The plan they came up with worked perfectly. Blake and Wade were assigned a project to film a documentary about the First 15 rugby team - a team they had great pride to be a part of, and an aspect of school that they felt really passionate about. By using the rugby team as a vehicle, the boys were able to craft their own learning experience around something they loved and staff were blown away by the final product.

Now, years later, Blake and Wade talk about how before the project they felt like they only wanted to achieve the bare minimum and they were really just cruising through school. Once they started working on the documentary, their Media Studies class became probably the only class they would never miss, and the project was one of the proudest and most memorable parts of their high school learning experience.

For the staff involved, one of the biggest realisations was the importance of sharing ideas between departments to help students grow and learn in a way that works for them. This is a crucial part of the Sport in Education philosophy.

"I like the thought of making learning meaningful and relevant and real, so this was a good opportunity to do something different."