A Tauranga couple who didn't want their son to get lost in the education system, made the choice to switch from NCEA to a Cambridge curriculum.

Jo and Mark Mayston decided to enrol their son Henry at ACG in Tauranga, and Jo is the first to admit that the first term was a bit of an adjustment.

'Cambridge was a shock to him, it really showed the differentiation between the two curriculums.”

He's in love with science now. Having specialist science teachers teach him in a lab has been great – he's really stepped up.”

She's conscious boys can get lost in the education system and, while private school was always an option for the family, Henry wasn't a boarding-school-type kid.

ACG Tauranga is local and seemed a good option, so they attended an open day.

'We were captivated by the passion and enthusiasm of the teachers and immediately sold,” says Jo.

'Henry wanted to sign up then and there. It was driven by him, he wanted it. That made the decision a lot easier.”

Although they had initial concerns about a smaller school not being able to provide enough extracurricular options, Jo says Henry is only limited by the fact he can't do everything – he's already involved in robotics, chess group, badminton, rock climbing, Tough Girl and Guy challenge, Spanish, speech and drama, and keyboard.

The teachers' care and energy is remarkable, she says. When Henry, a reluctant artist, missed the deadline to hand in a project, his art teacher opened the classroom for him at lunchtime, giving up her lunchbreak to help him finish his work.

For Jo, it's a story that sums up the ethos of the teachers at ACG Tauranga.

'They motivate these kids to want to do well, they support them and help them feel it's a team effort. As parents, we want to ensure our kids have the best possible education available in the region. Two years down the track, we are still as delighted as when we first moved Henry to ACG. What more can we say.”

If you would like to learn more about ACG Tauranga, please join us at our next Open Day anytime between 2pm to 7.30pm.

This article contains sponsored content by ACG Tauranga.