STEM · Years 11–13
Can you prove it — not just solve it?
The Accelerated STEM Track moves beyond calculation into the harder work of proof, experimental design, and rigorous interpretation of data — for Years 11 to 13.
What the Accelerated STEM Track covers
The Accelerated STEM Track is built for learners who find standard school mathematics and science comfortable but unchallenging. The programme covers four areas: formal proof-writing for pure mathematics, experimental methodology and hypothesis testing, statistical analysis including regression and confidence intervals, and problem sets modelled directly on New Zealand university entrance examinations and mathematics competition formats. The programme meets twice weekly and runs across two school terms. Assessment is through six problem sets and one extended investigation, each reviewed with written faculty commentary. Students are expected to show their reasoning — correct answers without justification do not receive full marks.
Who the STEM Track serves — and what it does not replace
The Accelerated STEM Track is appropriate for learners in Years 11 to 13 who are achieving at Merit or Excellence level in school mathematics and science and want preparation that goes beyond the NCEA achievement standards. The programme does not replace school STEM subjects, and it does not teach to the NCEA curriculum — students must maintain their standard school enrolment for NCEA credit. The STEM Track is not a tutoring service: we do not help students pass specific assessments they are struggling with. We build the deeper reasoning skills that make future advanced work — at university or in professional STEM fields — more accessible and less effortful.
I had been getting Excellence in school calculus for two years and was genuinely bored. The STEM Track gave me the first maths problem I could not immediately solve — a proof question in week three. That friction was exactly what I needed. By the end of the programme I had a language for mathematical reasoning I had never been taught at school, and I placed second in the regional AMC qualifier.
Sam Ōkoro, Year 13, St Oran's College Wellington
Apply for the Accelerated STEM Track
Prospective students are asked to complete a short diagnostic problem set as part of the application. Contact our admissions team to receive it.
Contact admissions