On the Way Up

School:	Queen Charlotte College
Type:	Secondary
Location:	Picton
Roll (2005):	330
Decile:	3
Contact:	Tom Parsons, Principal
Phone:	03 573 6558

When Tom Parsons was appointed principal of Queen Charlotte College in 2004, he found the College receptive to change.

Already, things are different and the roll is climbing – up 20% on a year ago. An important change, Tom says, was to the physical environment. “We’ve tried to make it a school where students feel respected and treat it as their own,” Tom says.

“We replaced the gravel on the adventure playground with bark, are replacing the gym floor, and now we’re spending $200,000  remodelling the labs.”  New furniture from Bodyfurn® was part of the deal.

“We’ve got some big kids here,” says Tom. “They’d sit at the old furniture and their knees would lift the desk off the floor.” The students love their new furniture – its innovative new design - and it’s helping to change the culture.

Tom  explains that “something happened the other day and all I had to do was mention it in assembly and it was put right.” Because Tom doesn’t yet have Bodyfurn® in every classroom, he makes sure that whenever there is an NCEA examination, the students use the Bodyfurn® classrooms, “to give them every possible chance,” he says.

“We made a deal with our student community.
Look after our college and we’ll be able to buy the
best furniture available. The best in the world.”
Tom Parsons, Principal