Whakatane High School is 90 years old, and enjoys a reputation for academic achievement. The school boasts a hard working staff team, that work with students to ensure success. The school is very welcoming to visitors, and all previous international students have spoken of the welcoming nature and friendships they have developed during their time here. The school offers a wide range of subjects. Two in particular, have proven popular with students from overseas. The Marine Studies programme, offers not only the opportunity to study in this area, but also to gain an internationally recognised scuba diving certificate. This class travels to Queensland, Australia each year to dive and study on the Great Barrier Reef. This course does have additional costs. The outdoor education programme offers a wide range of activities, that include snow skiing, tramping, horse riding, surfing and canoeing. The school trips are at an additional cost. Whakatane High School takes pride in the wide range of sporting opportunities offered. These include volleyball, basketball, football, netball, rugby, hockey, surfing, swimming and athletics. There are also many cultural activities including music tuition, drama, school bands and singing. A key feature of the school is the welcome and care given to visitors. International students are formally welcomed at the school and the Dean of International Students is responsible for their welfare and academic programme. They are assigned a local senior students as a buddy to help them settle in to school life. The range of support offered, means that these visiting students from overseas invariably greatly enjoy their experience here. The school looks to develop a programme to suit the student's needs. We recognise that students will come here for a variety of reasons. Some will want simply to enjoy a cultural experience, some will want to improve their English by being immersed in the language, while others will be wanting to gain New Zealand qualifications so that they can attend university in this country. We will design a programme to meet all these needs. At Whakatane High School we realise that it is a big step for parents to send their children overseas to study. We take our responsibility to care for these students, in the absence of their parents, very seriously.