Ao Tawhiti or Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery (abbreviated "ATUD") is a state area school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was established by the merging of two separate Christchurch inner city schools; the primary school Discovery 1 (unofficially Discovery or D1) and the secondary school Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti (better known as Unlimited or UPT for short).
The school is one of eleven schools running under the "Designated Special Character" criteria of the Education Act 1989.
Students are given the flexibility to pick from a variety of interchangeable classes and subjects to design their own customised learning programme, including working on individual projects as an alternative to total classroom learning. They also have the option to learn subjects which are not traditionally taught in New Zealand secondary schools, such as philosophy, video game design, DJing and music production.
History
Ao Tawhiti was formed in 2014, by the merger of two schools which were each established by the Learning Discovery Trust. Originally they existed as two separate entities, known as Discovery 1 (primary) and Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti (secondary).
Early origins
Under the direction and leadership of John Clough, the Alpha Learning Programme explored innovative and progressive learning theory in education for two years from 1993 onwards. In late 1998 (following the creation of a trial 'Learning Lab' at Elmwood School) an application to construct a new school based on this education theory was lodged before the then Minister of Education Wyatt Creech. The Ministry acknowledged the special character and granted it a special character designation.
Discovery and Unlimited
Discovery 1 was established in 2001, followed by Unlimited in 2003. Both had been formed by Christchurch-based Learning Discovery Trust.
Unlimited 2003–2011
Unlimited started with just 40 students (dubbed the "foundation forty") as well as 7 staff. It opened in January 2003 at its site on Cashel Street. Unlimited was originally based on the first floor of the Southern Star House building (which housed shops on the ground floor) and later occupied the second floor as well.
Ao Tawhiti claim that in 2003 a New Zealand business magazine named 'Unlimited' allegedly challenged the Unlimited school in relation to their name. The school claims it responded by renaming Unlimited to Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, although few details about the case are given.
In 2004, the construction of the Hallensteins Building (known as "Northern Tower" by those at the school) was established across from Unlimited's original premises on the corner of Cashel Street and High Street. It was built to help facilitate the growing number of students, which was upwards of 200 at the time. Students and staff moved into the building in 2005. Unlimited also expanded into the basement of The Crossing building that year, next door to the Southern Star Building.
Unlimited's presence in the city centre was a core aspect of the school's student culture and philosophy to learning. The Hallensteins Building was important in the development of this culture.
Unlimited reached a maximum MOE roll of 400 students by 2008.
Discovery 2001–2011
Discovery was first based above a restaurant named 'The Loaded Hog' on Manchester Street. It began its first term with thirty students and eight staff. The following year the school increased by fifty new students.
During the later years of the schools operation, Discovery 1 was based on the upper levels of The Crossing on the corner of Colombo Street and Cashel Street. It was accessible through the bus exchange and an adjacent multi-level car park. Although located on the same streets, students had no academic contact and were largely separated from Unlimited students due to the location of Discovery within the building, and limited accessibility. Despite this, the schools were often seen as sister schools as it was common for Discovery 1 students to move on to Unlimited, or have older siblings attending Unlimited. They would also share space if buildings were under maintenance or development so many staff and students were familiar to one another.
February 2011 Christchurch earthquake
Some students, staff and visitors were present in the Unlimited buildings during the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on 22 February 2011. A number of people, particularly students, were not present that day or had left the school the hour before the quake, due to many staff attending a paid union meeting in the Christchurch Town Hall.