Whangaparāoa College

2025 START DATES

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GATE


At Whangaparāoa College, we understand the importance of providing opportunities for our gifted and highly able learners to extend their learning and reach their full potential.

To achieve this, we offer a range of programs and activities that challenge and engage these learners. Here we provide an overview of the programs we offer, with a focus on the competitions, enrichment programs, and acceleration opportunities available to our gifted and highly able learners.

Acceleration/Extension Opportunities

We believe in accelerating learners in the subject areas of their strength. We work with individual students to identify their strengths and design a program that best suits their needs. 

We provide lateral extension within the classroom for the highly able learners and support students to explore and deepen their understanding of the curriculum. 

Our acceleration opportunities also include access to advanced learning materials and resources, and specialized mentorship programs.

Enrichment Programs

In addition to our acceleration opportunities, we also offer a range of enrichment programs and competitions for our gifted and highly able learners. These programs provide our learners with opportunities to explore new and challenging concepts and develop skills in areas of interest. The competitions allow them to test their skills and knowledge in a competitive setting, and to demonstrate their abilities to a wider audience. 

The enrichment programs and competitions we offer include: 

•    Year 7 Enrichment programmes in Philosophy (Science based), Creative Writing, Mathematics, Art and Coding.

  • A Debating Club

•    Creative Writing Club

•    New Zealand Physics and Mathematics Competition

•    Engineering Science competition organised by Auckland University

•    Auckland Writers Festival

•    Mathex Competition

•    International Mathematical Modelling Challenge

•    A Fraction More Maths groups

•    Brain Bee Competition

•    EPro8 Challenge

•    Litter Less Competition

•    National Young Reporters Workshop

•    World Vision Youth Conference

•    Inter-school Dance Competitions

•    Showcasing Art at the Intermediate and Middle Schools Art Association

•    Arduino Build Day

•    ICAS assessments


We offer a range of academic and creative competitions for our gifted and highly able learners. These competitions allow them to test their skills and knowledge in a competitive setting, and to demonstrate their abilities to a wider audience.


Bonita Menezes

GATE Coordinator

At Whangaparāoa Secondary School, we are committed to providing our gifted and highly able learners with a stimulating and challenging learning environment. Our acceleration opportunities, enrichment programs, and competitions are designed to promote excellence and support the personal growth of our learners. We believe that these programs are an essential component of our mission to provide a world-class education.