2026 Senior Course Selection 

Information for Students and Families   

Course selection for 2026 seniors opens this week and closes at the end of Week 6. All course selections for next year’s 11, 12, and 13 students are completed through SchoolBridge. Students will receive emailed instructions on how to use the portal once the process opens.   

This is a crucial opportunity to reflect on your future pathway - whether it’s university, trades, further study, or work. As part of your online selection, you’ll be asked about your pathway goals (e.g., university, specific courses, trades, work), so we can offer tailored guidance.   

Support and Guidance  

We encourage students and families to make the most of this time by discussing options with: 

• Class Teachers Heads of Department (HODs) 
• Mentors 
• Deans 
• Our Futures Department 
• The Senior Leadership Team (SLT)   

All students and whānau can access the pathway map and detailed course descriptions on the school website. If you’re unsure about your future plans, consider keeping your options open.   

Year 11 students

• Select 3 elective courses. 
• Three core subjects; English, Mathematics, and Science are automatically assigned. 
• Students considering opting out of Science must have a pathway meeting with a Dean or SLT member and formally request an exemption.  

Year 12 students 

• Select 6 subjects. 
• There are no compulsory subjects if you have already achieved Literacy and Numeracy. 
• Choose courses aligned with your pathway. If undecided about university, keep that option available with your subject choices.

Year 13 students 

• Select 5 subjects. 
• If you are looking at university pathways ensure that the subjects you take are ‘UE’ subjects.  You need a minimum of three UE subjects to gain University Entrance.
• A dedicated study option is provided to support assignment completion and assessment preparation.

Reminder: Plan carefully, consider your goals, and take advantage of all available guidance. All selections must be submitted via SchoolBridge before the end of Week 6. 

We are here to support you every step of the way - please reach out if you need advice or clarification. 

Year 13 Leavers’ Update for Students and Whānau

As we approach the end of the school year, each Year 13 student is on their own individualised pathway plan. For some, this means they may finish their classes earlier than others, once they have achieved all the qualifications required for their next steps. We encourage all whānau to have conversations with their students, and with Deans, the Futures Department, or the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to clarify and understand their agreed leaving date.

Any student finishing early, having attained their pathway goals and necessary qualifications, is considered to have graduated. These students remain an important part of our school community and are warmly invited to attend the Graduate Profile Assembly being held on the 29th of October. Here, they are invited to cross the stage and receive their Graduate Profile certificate alongside their peers.   

Please contact the Dean, Futures Department, or SLT if you have any questions regarding your student’s pathway or graduation status. 

Sommerville Satellite Unit ākoranga at Edgewater College are privileged to be participating in Special Olympics Basketball sessions this term. These sessions provide a fantastic opportunity for our ākonga to develop their ball-handling skills, improve coordination, and most importantly, to experience the joy of teamwork and collaboration. The students are showing great engagement and enthusiasm, working together, encouraging each other, and having loads of fun while learning new skills on the court. We can't wait for our next session!

School Events

Alumni students visit

On 25th July our Year 13 students had the wonderful opportunity to hear from nine of our former Edgewater college graduates who are currently studying from a range of courses such as Engineering, Law, Business, Music at university this year. These alumni were able to personally have a chat with our current year 13s about University basics such as studylink, selecting courses, accommodation and other details about specialised courses.

Our sincere thanks to the past students who participated and shared their experience: 

• Bahar Nazary – studying Bio Med at UoA 
• Navid Ahmadi – studying Business at AUT 
• Yasameen Ali – studying Psychology AUT 
• Vernice Padayogdog – studying Business AUT 
• Akeel Abdul – studying Engineering AUT 
• Jorja Panapa – studying Law (Criminology and Sociology) at UoA 
• Josh Bold – studying Physics & Mathematics at AUT 
• Samuel Scanlan – studying Music at UoA 
• Jeremy Real – studying Health Sci (Physiotherapy) at AUT  

We are incredibly proud of you and your achievements 😊  

Whānau Chess Competition   

The four colours spirit kicked in again with the Whānau chess competition taking place in the school library. Budding Grandmasters brought their best strategies, trying to outwit their opponents and gain valuable points for their house.  

In the end it was Ngata who reigned supreme and took top honours with Sheppard second, third place went to Hillary and Cooper fourth.

Week 5 is Book Week and the theme, as voted on by our student librarians, is Mystery and Thriller. Throughout the week there will be a crime to solve in the library, with new clues released each day. In keeping with this theme, my book of the week is The Idaho Murders by James Patterson and Vicky Ward. 

In 2022, the murder of four college students in Moscow, Idaho stunned the world. Because of their age and already heavy online presence, news of this crime and subsequent updates spread like wildfire over social media. Everyone had a theory, and they were all being shared on Tiktok.  The Idaho Murders follows the aftermath of the tragedy, with particular focus on the impact of the crime’s virality. 

Thanks to exclusive interviews, this book details the investigation from beginning to end, written as a story from multiple points of view. This format is quite engaging and allows the reader to connect with the victims and their families. If you are interested in this book, it will be on display with all our new crime and thriller books for Book Week this week.

Students and staff are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book characters on Wednesday 13 August as part of our celebrations!      

Tara Holland | School Librarian 

Sport

Summer Sports Musters 

In a few weeks, we will begin mustering for summer sports, which will start in Term 4. If there’s something you’d like to play that isn’t currently being offered, please pop into the Gym Office and have a chat with Ms Benjamin, we’re always keen to support new ideas and help students get involved in sport and physical activity.

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Congratulations to our Open Girls Basketball team!

The Open Girls Basketball team had a great win against ACG Parnell, which was well deserved after a challenging season. The team has faced a tough run, with several opposition teams either defaulting or simply not showing up to games. 

Despite the lack of regular competition, the core group of girls stayed committed and resilient, continuing to train hard throughout the season. 

Their fantastic win against ACG Parnell showed that their perseverance truly paid off. 

A big thank you to Coach Haydn Dawson, Managers Kirsten Hyde and Luka Unger, and to the parents and staff who have supported the team throughout the season. 

Good luck for the rest of the season! 

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Kōwhiri Ākonga - Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa funding 

This year, we have been lucky enough to receive funding from Tū Manawa Active Aotearoa. We are very grateful for their support. This funding is to help get our rangatahi more active, more of the time.

The funding has helped us bring in some outside instructors / providers to support our Kōwhiri Ākonga programme. It means we can offer a wider range of activities that keep our students active and engaged - even when we don’t have the skills on staff to run the programmes ourselves. 

In Term 3, our students have been taking part in Mau Rākau, American Flag Football, and CrossFit. These sessions have been a hit - the students are learning new skills and enjoying the challenges. 

We’d like to give a big thank you to: 

• Kairangi, who has been leading our Mau Rākau sessions and sharing his knowledge and passion with our students. 
• Dan, who has been running the American Flag Football programme and bringing both great knowledge of the sport and lots of energy to each session. 
• Genevieve from CrossFit Inner Strength in Burswood, who is not only running our CrossFit sessions but also part sponsored the programme so we could make it happen.