School build changing lives for Cromwell teens

A wooden cabin is taking shape at Cromwell College, but rather than experienced builders being on the tools it is school pupils instead.

When Crux dropped in for a visit the young crew were at a nerve-racking point in the process - lining up the roof and hoping like hell they had got all their measures right up until then.

On hand to help, though, were members of the local 'Menz Shed', who are volunteering their time at the school to pass on their construction sector know-how.

Members of the Menz Shed are helping with the build of a wooden cabin at Cromwell College.

Year 10 pupil Aidan Westland says he had just used a measuring tape corner to corner to make sure the build was square.

"So that when we put the roof on it, everything sits perfectly. If it's not square, it'll look very weird."

The next step, he says, is assembling the rafters.

"Which is the pitch of the roof, and then we have some boards that will go across those rafters."

Aidan is switched on, articulate and confident - yet he tells Crux he struggles to learn easily in a classroom setting.

"For me, personally, in the classroom, I just sit there a lot more lost.

"I learn by doing. It's a lot, at least for me, a lot easier."

In the classroom he feels swamped by "bunches of papers", he says.

Aidan is part of a programme at the college that has him working his way through NCEA qualifications while also spending some school days on job sites - in his case, he is paired with a local building company.

Cromwell College deputy principal Sarah Hill says the cabin build was initiated to capture pupils younger than Aidan already starting to switch off from classroom learning but not yet old enough to qualify for the workplace programme.

"It's too late to wait til year 11 to save kids from disengagement, so we're wanting to act now."

Her idea, "Let's bring the building site to the school".

She was sick of urging the young people in her care to "hang on" for their final years at school when things are starting to be better geared towards their strengths.

Year nine pupil Lackie McEhinney is typical of those Ms Hill is targeting with this latest at-school build project.

From left, Aidan Westlake, Jamie Reinke and Butu Mocevakaca decipher plans at Cromwell College.

Lackie calls himself a "hands-on learner".

His biggest challenge in a classroom, he reckons, is there is "nothing really for me to fiddle with".

So, what does he love about the build? "Everything", he says, being outside, working with his hands, being part of a team.

And that team includes a few unexpected teachers.

Kyle Tocher is a member of the Cromwell Menz Shed, a group of handy, mostly retired tradies, who come together to work on smaller building projects, often with a community focus.

"We're just here, helping the guys put the shed together with a bit of supervision," Mr Tocher says.

The cabin arrived at the school as something like a flat pack set up, but don't be fooled into thinking that has made it simple to assemble.

"It's quite hard on a project like this, because you've got to get things right from a technical perspective," Mr Tocher says.

"At the moment, it's all go, but some of it's been a bit tedious."

However Ms Hill is not bothered by that and thinks the resilience, patience and perseverance needed because of it is good learning for the young people too.

For her, bringing outside expertise into the school to help with the project is a key ingredient to its success.

"It's that link to our community, because we need our kids to see the relevance of this outside the school gate."

The intergenerational interactions she is seeing are also priceless.

"The rubbing shoulders that they do and all of the conversations that they are having with all of these guys is so much more important than just building the shed.

"They're talking about fishing and hunting and the importance of commitment and team sport in their time."

The plan is for the cabin, once complete, to be sold, bringing in money for the school to repeat the process all over again.