At Nga Tawa we empower role models and encourage the skills of future leaders. We believe all students benefit from practicing leadership as it develops effective communication, emotional intelligence, confidence, initiative and independence. Student council, boarding house and other school-based leadership roles encourage our students’ involvement in the management and planning of school activities and events. Opportunities to perform within regional programmes and competitions, further allow Nga Tawa students to truly shine.

Our Student Council is an enthusiastic and active group, with students appointing members to represent their interests. Beyond the advocacy of the student council, Nga Tawa also welcomes one student representative each year to serve on the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustee (BOT) Representative provides a voice for the entire student body, communicating student opinion on important initiatives for the future. The Youth Parliament is also offered every three years to Year 13 students giving them first-hand experience of government policy as they become activists within a mock political system.

Other school-based roles allow students to become involved in the school’s facilitation of pastoral care for other students including the appointing of Prefects, the Big Sister Programme and the Peer Mediation Programme. Student Prefects are elected from Year 13 and serve the student body in twelve areas. This allows students with strong skills in a certain area to lend a hand to others who may not be so strong in that particular area. The Big Sister Programme, allows exceptional Year 12 and 13 students to assume a leadership role as mentors and friends to new entrants in Year 9. The Peer Mediation Programme trains around 30 students in the mediation process annually. Pairs of student mediators are rostered to help bridge miscommunication or disagreements within the boarding houses and day school environments. This provides a unique opportunity for service leadership while the peer mediator acquires valuable life skills.

Participation in programmes outside Nga Tawa such as the Young New Zealanders Challenge also allow talented students to take a leadership role in motivating other students by achieving goals and rising to solve new life challenges.