Background
Dilworth School is an independent, Anglican boys' school in the Auckland suburb of Remuera. The school is run by a trust, and each student is funded through a scholarship to cover education and boarding costs (all the boys board, either weekly or full-time).
Dilworth is divided into two schools, junior and senior, which are located on separate campuses. In 2009 the junior school (Years 5-8) had 192 students, and the senior (Years 9-13) 340. Juniors have Technology every week and over their four years cover most domains. Food and Biotechnology is not offered due to lack of facilities.
In the senior school, Year 9 students take compulsory Graphics and Textiles Technology, and in Year 10 choose an option from: Structures and Mechanisms, Electro-technology, IT, Food, Materials and Graphics. At Year 11 the only options are Furniture Making and Graphics, although an Electronics course is offered in Year 12.
Sarah Blenkiron teaches Technology in the junior school, and also goes over to the senior campus to teach the Year 10 Structures and Mechanisms, Materials and Graphics courses. Sarah says she has been doing Technology since she was her students' age (in England), and continued with it through to GSCE and A Level. After completing a four-year Industrial Design and Technology degree, Sarah taught Materials, Electronics, and Structures and Mechanisms Technology in both state and private schools. She moved to New Zealand in 2003 and taught at Royal Oak Intermediate, before joining Dilworth School in 2007.
As the sole junior Technology teacher, Sarah has taught most of her students in previous years so knows what experience and skills they have. An advantage of teaching a range of technologies is being allocated a large workroom which, when the equipment not required for the class is packed away, gives her students plenty of room to work in.
