Ilminster Intermediate, Gisborne

Key facts

About Ilminster Intermediate

Ilminster Intermediate is a New Zealand state intermediate school. Its stated school vision is Simply the Best, and it has developed a graduate profile — Ko Te Kōrero Paetahi — that describes the qualities and capabilities the school aims to develop in students before they leave.

The school's approach to student wellbeing is structured around Te Whare Tapa Whā, a Māori health framework encompassing taha whānau, taha wairua, taha tinana, taha hinengaro, and taha whenua. Alongside this, the school delivers three named wellbeing and health programmes: Pause, Breathe, Smile, a mind health programme aligned with the New Zealand curriculum in which all staff are trained; Navigating the Journey, a health programme covering identity, relationships, gender, sexuality, and body image; and Headspace, a weekly meditation and mindfulness programme delivered through the PE programme.

The school uses a whole-school approach to values and behaviour, with expectations taught explicitly at the start of each year and reinforced through the curriculum, assemblies, displays, and staff role modelling. A positive incentive system rewards students for consistently meeting school-wide expectations.

Outside the classroom, the school offers a wide range of activities spanning sport, performing arts, academic competitions, and cultural programmes, including kapa haka, string orchestra, coding club, surf team, and EPro8, among others.

Curriculum

Ilminster Intermediate serves students aged 11–13. The curriculum is organised around two main structures: Matauranga classes, which cover core subjects, and Centre classes, which are inquiry-based and grouped around a student's chosen area of interest.

Core subjects are taught by specialist teachers across the school. Matauranga classes run four mornings per week from 9am to 12:30pm in 90-minute blocks, with class sizes targeted at 21–22 students. Every student also attends the Connections Centre on a rotating basis, with a full week dedicated to one Connections subject every three weeks.

Core subjects taught through Matauranga include:

• Literacy (reading, writing, viewing, speaking, and presenting)
• Numeracy (number operations, mental calculation, and problem solving)
• PE and Health (Hauora), using the Whare Tapa Wha framework; includes a programme called Navigating the Journey covering identity, relationships, gender, sexuality, stereotypes, and body image

Connections Centre subjects, attended by all students, are:

• Food and Nutrition
• Music
• Visual Art
• Science

Centre classes form each student's home room and focus on inquiry learning. Students choose a Centre based on their interests. The available Centres are the Expressive Centre (Music, Art, Dance, Drama), a PE/Sport centre, a Science and Technology centre, and Xcel, which combines all four areas. A Learning Support programme provides additional assistance in reading, writing, and mathematics for students who need it.

School Facilities

Ilminster Intermediate has the following on-site facilities:

• Gymnasium — full-size, with two basketball courts and markings for netball, badminton, and volleyball
• Swimming pool — 25 metres in length, used for swimming programmes in Terms 1 and 4 and at lunchtime
• Library — includes a print collection, Chromebooks in all classrooms, and access to online libraries offering audiobooks, graphic novels, and other digital titles
• Science laboratory — described as a new, purpose-built facility supporting practical science