Whanganui High School

When I asked my English teacher for help she just read out the question to me and kept me in class
Mar 11th, 2023

Nice
Feb 27th, 2023

great management, great school!
Jan 31st, 2023

Good school, but the school cat, louie ripped my arm and requires me to have 43 stitches. Faze Jarvis - Local guide
Jul 20th, 2022

From 2006 - 2008, I was a student with a recognized disability that, at the time, was undiagnosed. I would later receive an ADHD diagnosis as an adult, however the symptoms of this were incredibly pronounced during my high school experience. At some point, faculty decided that my difficulty completing homework on time, my inability to sit still, and not being able to "apply myself" made me a bad student who simply wished to sow chaos and wreak havoc. In truth, I was always a bright kid, and passionate about many of subjects, but the staff had made their judgement and thus the moniker of "troublemaker" was forced upon me. A few minor offenses either directly ADHD related or due to an association with some genuine bad eggs (I knew nobody at WHS having just moved from Auckland, and being so shy, my initial friendships were opportunistic and short lived - one such friendship was with a fellow quite fond of harassing a certain teacher, and being his friend, I was branded his co-conspirator) resulted in being so haplessly branded this way by the school faculty, and this is where things began to spiral. Despite obvious ADHD symptoms, not one person involved considered this possibility, instead merely assuming the worst and doubling down on this decision the more that time passed. I was regularly, consistently dragged out of classes and reprimanded for things I was first learning about in those moments having played no part in them and even having reliable testimony from a friend group made up almost exclusively of well-regarded and successful students. Despite having spoken to those friends whose testimonies supported my alibis and my claims of having no involvement, I would still receive punishment for these events. It wouldn't take long before they wouldn't even ask those friends anymore, branding me as guilty with at-best circumstantial but often no evidence whatsoever. I, like most, experienced some bullying from other students, but this pales in comparison to the sheer torment I received from staff and in particular the year nine dean at the time who, strangely enough, would continue his campaign with increasing intensity even after I had graduated from his year group. Isn't that strange? This would result in a sharp decline of my mental health and a dramatic spiral of my academic performance. Entering fifth form, I was held back in several classes which, for one, is a social nightmare when you're already an uncomfortable teen, but I was even held back in classes I had passed on subjects I was passionate about. English was one such class. By how I write, you might have already guessed, but I've gone on to make my living as a writer. Most certainly the career path of the very worst students, would you not agree? Eventually, I was "encouraged" to seek an alternative source of education (by which I mean taken during school hours by a school employee to several of these facilities) which would be necessary as, being 15 at the time, I could not legally leave just yet (and believe me, I was counting the minutes), and as their case against me would drift away on even the slightest breeze... and I'm certain they knew this all too well. I would go on to achieve academic success at one of these facilities, achieving both NCEA 1 and 2 within the space of only a few months (with 2 being the highest achievable via this route). And what became of such a terribly behaved student? Dead? In prison? Drug addict? No, actually. Writer. Computer programmer and technician. UX/UI specialist. PR and social media manager. And I do all of these things at the same time! Whanganui High School failed me, as it has many others I have spoken to in the years since, but I didn't fail myself and I'm proud to say I'm successful, happy, and doing what I love every single day! But at 30 years old, with half my life between me and this awful, awful experience... the trauma yet lingers, and I will continue feeling its effects each and every day until my last. And 15 years later... I still won't forgive you, Whanganui High School. And I never will.
Nov 17th, 2022