Fergusson Intermediate (Trentham), Upper Hutt

Key facts

About Fergusson Intermediate (Trentham)

Fergusson Intermediate is a state intermediate school located in Trentham, opened in 1966 by the Governor General Sir Bernard Fergusson, later Lord Ballantrae, after whom the school is named. The school's crest and motto also derive from the Fergusson Clan.

The school motto, "Dulcius ex Asperis" — meaning "Sweeter because of Difficulty" — is represented in the crest by a bee seeking nectar from a thistle. The school applies this as a guiding principle, emphasising determination and persistence in learning.

Fergusson Intermediate is a U5 school with a roll of approximately 400 students, organised into 15 composite Year 7 and Year 8 classes. These classes are grouped into five learning hubs — Remutaka, Whirinaki, Te Awakairangi, Kaitoke, and Pākuratahi — each led by a Team Leader. Students remain in the same hub across both years of attendance where possible. The school draws its students primarily from Trentham, Silverstream, and Pinehaven.

Curriculum

Fergusson Intermediate serves Years 7 and 8 students. Literacy and numeracy are explicitly taught across the curriculum, with the school using assessment data from contributing schools to inform programmes from the start of Year 7.

The school follows a New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) framework, which it has used since 2018. This centres on six competencies: character, citizenship, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity. These sit alongside the New Zealand Curriculum's key competencies and the cultural competencies from Tātaiako.

Specialist curriculum areas taught at the school include:

• Visual Arts
• Design Technology
• Robotics & Coding
• Digital Design Technology
• Food, Garden and Fibre Technology
• Performing Arts
• STEAM

ICT is integrated across all learning areas. All classrooms have data projectors, and students have access to Chromebooks, netbooks, desktop computers, and digital cameras. The school uses Google Apps for Education as its online learning platform, through which teachers plan and deliver learning and provide feedback. The school also has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, which is optional; the student wireless network operates between 8.30am and 3.00pm on school days.

Co-curricular Activities

The following named sports and activities are offered at Fergusson Intermediate:

• Floorball — a form of indoor hockey run by Activation at The Professionals Recreation Hall, played on Monday afternoons in approximately 12-week seasons; all equipment is provided
• Netball — inter-school competition
• Basketball — inter-school competition
• Touch Rugby — inter-school competition
• Football — inter-school competition
• Cricket — inter-school competition
• Rugby — inter-school competition
• Hockey — inter-school competition
• Fergy Sport — a weekly inter-class competition held each Friday afternoon during Terms 1 and 4, consisting of two 25-minute games with points awarded for winning, sportsmanship, and correct uniform
• Lunchtime Sport — organised by Sports Captains and held on Mondays and Wednesdays at lunchtime, in the hall, on the courts, or on the field
• Pā Wars
• Movin' March — a nationwide initiative in which students are encouraged to walk, bike, scoot, or wheel to school during March

The school is a member of the Wellington Regional School Sport Association (WRISSA), which makes it eligible to enter teams in tournaments against other Hutt, Wellington, and Porirua intermediates.