Gisborne Secondary’s Accelerated Learning Program

What’s this program all about?
The Aspire program is a new and exciting program for aspirational students in Years 7-9 who are looking for a challenge. It is Gisborne SC’s accelerated learning program, that is open to all students who express interest.

What do they have to do?
Simply choose a task from the Aspire booklet and complete it within a five week time-frame, (unless the task is connected to a competition). Students will present their completed project to an Aspire Panel, which will include the Principal/Assistant Principal, the teacher who designed the task, and one other person. This panel will judge whether the work is ’S’ (Successful)or ‘NY’ (Not Yet), which will mean more work is needed.

What do students get out of it?
Each ‘Successful’ task earns an Aspire Certificate. This certificate can be included in the personal portfolio students take from the College. This certificate will be a valued reference for future employers, tertiary institutions, scholarship applications, etc.
Furthermore, the students who complete the most impressive project(s) will receive a special medallion (the Aspire Award for High Achievement) at Presentation Night in December.

What help can students have?
Students can meet with the designing teacher as required or Mrs Anstey-Sprigg, who can check on progress and provide support. Students will need to be aware of rules about plagiarism and intellectual property, but we can teach them about this.

How many tasks can students do?
As many or as few as they wish. This is about quality, not quantity.
Do they get time in class to work on tasks?
That’s entirely up to their teacher. Most of the work will be done in their own time.
Interested students need to see Mrs Anstey-Sprigg to register, and get going.

The Tasks


Phone:      (03) 5428 3691
Fax:           (03) 5428 4018
Address:    Melton Rd, Gisborne, 3437

  • Student Absences

    Phone: (03) 5428 0899, before 9.00am.

Principal: Jon Morley