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Mawhera Services Academy (MSA) - Overview

MSA was founded in January 2002 and is situated in Greymouth on the Wild West South Island Coast of New Zealand.

MSA offers a full-time (37 week) programme and being a division of Greymouth High School, the programme follows the same hours and term structure.

The Academy is a military orientated programme with strong emphasis on discipline, physical training, leadership skills and challenges. The Academy is designed for both at risk youth and youth who have an interest in the following careers:

• Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force)
• Police
• Security Industry
• Fire Service
• Customs
• Outdoor Recreation
• Other related industry's

The course runs 25 hours per week that is split into approximately:

• 12 hours Academics
• 13 hours Services Training & Adventure Based Learning Activites

Eligibility:

• New Zealand Citizen
• Should be a minimum of 16 or turning 16 during the year
• Prepared to conform within a disciplined environment
• Medically fit
• Want to succeed and have fun!

Costs:

• NO FEES - T.E.C. (Tertiary Education Commission) funded, therefore the programme is FREE to eligible participants
• Free uniform - yours to keep if you complete the course: Tracksuit, Polo Shirt, Rugby Jersey, Cap, PT Shirts, PT Shorts.

Discipline:

• MSA is based upon a Military Model
• Discipline is an important aspect of the course. Students will be required to sign a Code of Conduct.
• ALL discipline matters are dealt with fairly and appropriately

Other Academy's can be found throughout New Zealand. We have strong alliance's with all South Island Academy's, being; Aranui Services Academy, Christchurch; Logan Park Services Academy, Dunedin and Opihi Services Academy, Timaru.

History

The following is a brief account of how the Academy came to be:

In 1996 Allan Wilson (ex British army), was the careers advisor at Greymouth High School, he saw many young people with little self discipline. He felt that if discipline was imposed from the outside then some of it might stick. He wanted to run a military type programme within the school but at that time it was not accepted by the High School.

In 1998 John Wentworth, then a soldier in the NZ Army, contacted Allan to ask if the army could assist the school. This started a long chain of events which saw the formation of "Outdoor Challenge 2000" which was for students at risk of leaving school unprepared for work or further training. The programme ran for a term with the last couple of weeks being completed at Burnham Military Camp. Outdoor Challenge was very successful.

After some talk, the NZ Army invited the new principal of Greymouth High School, Mr Arthur Graves, to visit Burnham Military Camp and the Linwood Services Academy located in Christchurch (run by Linwood College). This was to see how an Academy is run and how it is closely linked with the Army. Arthur was very impressed with the Linwood Services Academy and asked if Greymouth High School could do something similar.

In 2001 funding was gained from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), Phillip Woods was appointed as Director and in 2002 the first intake of students went through the Mawhera Services Academy. Phillip then built the Academy up from practically nothing and ran the ship successfully until early 2007 where he joined the NZ Police Force.

2007 saw John Wentworth (ex NZ Army) take on the appointment Director and Lisa Mellish (ex NZ Army) Assistant Director. The Academy is still run as it always has been; a professional no nonsence manner to ensure our community’s youth are empowered to achieve; with support, encouragement and knowledge.