As part of their final year, our Upper School students complete a year-long, independent research project in an area of their choosing. A significant demonstration of self-directed, independent, responsible learning – the strength of this portfolio can give students a unique and distinctive edge in access to competitive industries or university courses.

Forming part of Level 3 on the Certificate of Steiner Education (NZCSE) qualification, each student chooses a project to strengthen their knowledge of a topic, or deepen their skills in a practical form – sometimes both. They spend a year, together with their mentors, developing their ideas and components. The students’ independence and initiative are challenged in entirely new ways to prepare them for the lifelong journey of self-education.

Each student produces a fully referenced, bound and formatted document circa 5000-7000 words from their research and presents their findings in an oral presentation to a public audience.  The presentation evening feels like a coming of age moment, as the students show us they are ready to step out into the world, standing firmly in their space and fully, individually themselves.

Read about Saran’s Class 12 Project, making an electric guitar from scratch. Saran graduated from with his NZCSE to study Economics at the University of York.