The door will soon be open for Northland and Auckland high school students with disabilities to be trail-blazers in an exchange scheme designed especially to suit them.
Achieve 2B founder Julia Hartshorne said the organisation has the funds in place for the regional and international pilot in the scheme, which will enable disabled students to have similar exchange opportunities to the type non-disabled students have taken part in for decades.
The first regional exchange will be between students from three Auckland schools and Tikipunga, Whangarei Boys' and Whangarei Girls' High Schools in term one next year.
That will be followed with the international pilot in term two, in which a Northland or Auckland student and one from Melbourne will experience their counterpart's home and school life for a term.
The Achieve 2B charitable trust is working in partnership with the Australian organisation, Interchange-Outer East, which also creates opportunities for young people with disabilities, Ms Hartshorne said.