A Christchurch school is trialling letting students work from home two days a week, to address falling attendance rates. 

Hagley College hopes to target students who struggle with attendance due to mental health concerns or sickness. 

The hybrid learning model will be offered to 20 NCEA Level 2 students. Students will attend 16 hours of in-person maths, science and English classes a week, and the rest via scheduled video calls. 

New Zealand Education Specialist Derek Wenmoth helped Hagley College to design the trial. Wenmoth tells Heather du Plessis-Allan other countries have programmes specifically targeting students struggling with issues like anxiety, and that New Zealand is behind on the uptake. 

LISTEN ABOVE