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Mount Hobson Academyhttps://www.mthobson.school.nz/ |
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| # of unique students – 96 Type of provider – School, private Primary distance modality – Synchronous |
Background
Mount Hobson Academy is a co-educational, private composite school based in Auckland. Owned by Villa Education Trust (which was formed in 2002), Mount Hobson Middle School was founded in 2003 as a brick-and-mortar school, serving students across years 7-10. In 2022 Mount Hobson Academy transitioned into being an online school, as well as expanding its reach to include students from year 1-15.
On 12 April 2024 Being AI Limited announced the acquisition of the education business assets of Villa Education Trust, which included Mount Hobson Academy.1 Being AI also acquired AGE School at the end of the 2023 school year, and transitioned to utilising Mount Hobson Academy as the sole distance learning provider for the education group.
Governance
According to the Education and Training Act 2020, a private school is defined as a school registered under section 214, which reads:
214 Registration of private schools
(1) This section applies if the managers of an existing school or proposed school wish the school to be registered as a private school under this section.
(2) The managers must apply to the Secretary, on a form provided by the Secretary for the purpose, for its provisional registration as a primary, secondary, or special private school, or as a school of 2 or all of those descriptions.
(3) The provisional and full registration of private schools, and the operation of private schools, must be done in accordance with Schedule 7. (Government of New Zealand, 2024a, p. 164)
Schedule 7 of the act provides approximately 10 pages of legislative regulation around the following areas.
- Provisional and full registration of private schools
- Criteria for registration as private school
- Suitable premises
- Additional and substituted premises to be approved
- Tuition standards
- Managers to be fit and proper persons
- Manager must have regard to statement of national education and learning priorities
- Managers must advise Secretary of school ceasing operation
- Review of private schools
- Secretary’s actions in relation to private schools
- Duration of suspension
- Process for cancellation of registration
- Grants for private schools
- Record-keeping in relation to grants to private schools
- Providing accounts to Secretary
- Suspensions and expulsions from private schools
Resourcing
As a private school, Mount Hobson Academy is primarily resourced through individual tuition paid by the students and their families. For domestic students, there is a non-refundable $300 application and entrance fee $300.00, followed by tuition fees depending on the programming requested:
Option 1
Teacher Led Year 1 to Year 10 – $9,000 (per year) or $2,250 (per term)
Teacher Led Year 11 to Year 13 – $10,000 (per year) or $2,500 (per term)
5% discount applied where there are two students from the same family. The discount increases to 10% when three or more attend from the same family. Discount applies to the tuition fee only.
Option 2
Parent Led Year 1 to Year 10 Only – $3,000 (per year) or $750.00 (per term)
Mount Hobson Academy also accepts international students and the tuition fee for those students is $30,000.00 (per year).
Finally, the government does provide grants to private schools through the private school subsidy funding pool (Ministry of Education, 2024a), which is distributed at a set rate per student. According to Circular 2022/08 – Private School Subsidy Funding 2023 the rates for 2023 were (Ministry of Education, 2022):
| Year Level | 2023 Funding Rate GST Exclusive | 2023 Funding Rate GST Inclusive |
| Year 1-6 | $880.54 | $1,012.62 |
| Year 7-8 | $964.23 | $1,108.87 |
| Year 9-10 | $1,234.01 | $1,419.11 |
| Year 11-15 | $1,874.16 | $2,155.28 |
Based on the data from Official Information Act Request 1321408, Mount Hobson Academy received funds in 2023 from this subsidy (Ministry of Education, 2024b). Unfortunately, the response to the request only lists the schools that received funding, and not the amount of funding or any details on how it was used.
Programming
Mount Hobson Academy utilizes a project-based curriculum from Y1-10 and National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) curriculum from Y11-13. More specifically, Mount Hobson Academy offers two different types of programming.
The first type of programming is a teacher led option that is available to all students. For students in year 1-10, students are instructed in a synchronous fashion for four 50-minute teaching blocks each morning. Over the span of each week, students will experience at least three lessons in English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, and Technology. Additionally, during one of the hourly blocks each morning, students will engage in independent project time where they will have access to Project Coaches who are online to support the students in their project completion. Finally, there is a 60-minute afternoon session where students are engaged in activities based around Arts, Music, Languages, Community Learning and Community Service.
For students in years 11-13 in the teacher led option, they have opportunities to enrol in the full provision NCEA Level 1-3 courses that are offered by Mount Hobson Academy themselves, Kōtui Ako | Virtual Learning Network Aotearoa (as Mount Hobson Academy is an active financial member), or Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu. The courses offered by Mount Hobson Academy include 4-hours each week of synchronous instruction, along with professional learning community that involved 1-hour of synchronous instruction and 3 hours of self-study or tutoring each week. All students – regardless of level – are under the supervision of an academic manager who oversees their pastoral and academic progress and development.
The second type of programming, which is only available to students in year 1-10, is a parent led option. This option involves the parents or caregivers overseeing daily teaching and learning using project documentation, subject unit plans, structure and pacing guides, and ongoing support provided by the teachers at Mount Hobson Academy. Additionally, Mount Hobson Academy teachers monitor, moderate and evaluate the curriculum delivery to meet our Ministry obligations as a registered private school.
Finally, Mount Hobson Academy offers camps and community days for all students to allow the opportunity for in person connection.
Activity
According to the Education Counts website, the school enrolment is described as so.
| Level | Total |
|---|---|
| Year 01 | 3 |
| Year 02 | 2 |
| Year 03 | 6 |
| Year 04 | 2 |
| Year 05 | 9 |
| Year 06 | 3 |
| Year 07 | 8 |
| Year 08 | 7 |
| Year 09 | 12 |
| Year 10 | 9 |
| Year 11 | 20 |
| Year 12 | 6 |
| Year 13+ | 9 |
| Total | 96 |
There were 6 students of Māori descent enrolled. As Mount Hobson Academy became an online school in 2022, all 96 students were distance learning students.
Historical Data
References
Government of New Zealand. (2024a). Education and training act 2020. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/LMS170676.html
Ministry of Education (2022). Circular 2022/08 – Private school subsidy funding 2023. Government of New Zealand. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/publications/education-circulars/latest-circulars/circular-2022-2/
Ministry of Education (2024a). Resourcing information for private schools. Government of New Zealand. https://www.education.govt.nz/school/funding-and-financials/resourcing/private-schools-resourcing-information/
Ministry of Education (2024b). Responses to Official Information Act requests. Government of New Zealand. https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/information-releases/responses-to-official-information-act-requests/
1 See https://www.nzx.com/announcements/429230 for a copy of this announcement.