Rotary offers Far North's Oturu School a boarding school scholarship

Reporter·Northern Advocate·

18 Feb, 2020 10:00 PM2 mins to read

Fraser Smith, principal of Oturu School in the Far North. Photo / Peter Jackson

Fraser Smith has seen the impact boarding school can have on his students.

The Oturu School principal says a former student who was awarded a scholarship to board at Carruth House in Whangārei went from being a needy student to "a strong young man".

So when Rotary Takapuna North offered to set up a scholarship to give another student an opportunity to board in Whangārei, he was thrilled.

"I had quite a group of kids who were in dire circumstances and needed to get out of where they were living, and going to boarding school can give them a new lease of life," he said.

"What they like is regularity, sleep, meals and opportunities to study and some kids really get on with that. I was desperate to get more support."

Rotary Takapuna North, which has done a lot of work with the Far North school, came to the party and set up a scholarship to help one student attend boarding school.

It's not the first time Smith has been able to give a student that opportunity.

One year a student received Variety funding to board at Carruth House, the boarding house at Whangārei Boys' High School. He is now a leader in the school.

"When he was here he was a needy little boy ... He used to be with me all the time. I was worried about him. Now he's a healthy strong young man with lots of confidence."

Rotary Takapuna North secretary Bill Grieve said they had been working with the school for more than three years.

"The school is extremely successful in helping difficult to teach children go out and make a difference in the world," he said.

The amount of the scholarship will depend on what boarding school the student goes to, and how many years it will be for.

Smith said he was he was grateful to be able to give another student a boarding school scholarship.

"For me, if we can pick up one kid like that and totally shift them, it changes that one life totally. And that is like paying back to the bank of life."