Geraldine High School students learn real farm skills through Primary Industries Academy

Chase Whitelock, 15, checks how well he's tightened the wire on his fence. Photo / RNZ, Anisha Satya

By Anisha Satya of RNZ

Putting up fences, riding farm bikes and wielding chainsaws - responsibly, of course - are part of the curriculum for a course at Geraldine High School.

It’s called the Primary Industries Academy (PIA) and aims to teach students skills that translate into real-world farming jobs.

“All our units of work are NCEA, but they’re unit-standard,” the head of department Sarah Foley-Smith said. “Which means that they’ve been written by industry for industry.”

PIA, a course offered for Years 11, 12 and 13, is part of the Trades Academy through Primary ITO (industry training organisations).

The course loops in industry businesses and experts, like Struan Moore from Strainrite Fencing, who share their expertise in a hands-on way.

“[I] help a little bit with the coaching, mainly with the wire work,” Moore said.

He and fellow fencer Dan Douglass were on site, helping students put strainer fence posts in the ground, when RNZ’s Country Life visited.

Moore said PIA students had the know-how and capability to become contract fencers after school.

“They could go and work at any fencing contractor.”

He attributes that success to Foley-Smith’s teaching style.

“The kids respond to her in a way that they achieve.

“I’ve actually heard from some parents that the sole reason their children stayed at school was because of the academy.”

Similar praise rings from the course’s students, such as 15-year-old Sophia McDonald.

“It’s helped me a lot, because last year I was a bit naughty and all that.

“I was actually going to drop out next year, but I’m going to stay, because I like PIA.”

McDonald is one of several students who will head north for this year’s Fieldays to compete in the Silver Staples, a fencing competition that the school won in 2025.

Image 1 of 5: Geraldine High School's Primary Industries Academy coordinator, Sarah Foley-Smith. Photo / RNZ, Anisha Satya

Like most PIA students, she enjoyed the practical work and getting outdoors.

The course is selected-entry. Hopeful Year 10s send in a written application, partake in a practical interview and attend a sit-down meeting with their parents.

Foley-Smith said selections are less focused on excellence and more on teamwork and persistence.

“A lot of my students probably would normally leave school [by the] end of Year 11,” she said.

“It’s just nice if we can keep them at school and they can actually grow up; that’s the big thing about remaining at school until Year 13.”

- RNZ