Overview
Purpose-built learning environment designed to support students with diverse and complex needs at Western Heights High School in Rotorua.
The project represents a significant investment in specialist education, doubling the school’s capacity for special needs students to 55, and building on more than 25 years of community advocacy for improved facilities.
About the project
The 1,000m² single-storey complex includes multiple learning spaces, a sensory room, accessible ablution facilities with ceiling-mounted hoists and adult change tables, resource rooms, a kitchen and laundry teaching space with height-adjustable fixtures, staff facilities, and supporting external works including new access roads, carparking and a covered drop-off area. It’s a building designed to enhance student independence.
Delivering the project within an operational high school required careful staging and coordination. Existing Te Maru classrooms remained occupied throughout construction, while extensive civil works, service upgrades and demolition were sequenced around school operations and holiday periods to minimise disruption. More than 400 truck movements, evolving site access requirements, and ongoing traffic management demanded rigorous planning and communication to maintain a safe environment for students, staff and the public.
Fosters worked closely with the school throughout the project, managing a staged handover that enabled early occupation under a CPU while final works were completed. Meanwhile, demolition of the existing classrooms (including asbestos removal) was done over the school holiday period.
Overcoming multiple challenges throughout construction, the team maintained a clear vision, proudly delivering a special needs complex that exceeded all expectations of students, staff and the wider community.
Client testimonial
Western Heights High School Principal James Bracefield described the Fosters delivery team as “great to work with”.
“They had good ideas and were always willing to support the school through various stages of the build.
“Onsite communication, consideration for the needs of our Te Maru students, mitigating risk to people onsite, and accommodating the various demands of our school’s daily operations – these are the things that stood out in Fosters’ management of this project” he said.
“So, too, did the commitment of this team to doing a good job for our Te Maru students” he added. “While proactively including the children in the project, they set high expectations for themselves and subcontractors to deliver an outstanding facility.”
Te Maru HOD Chris Brewer echoed these sentiments.
“Fosters were amazing” she said. “They got things done with as little disruption to us as they could possibly manage. They built relationships with staff and students, even presenting one student with high vis gear for his birthday, and attending our prizegiving at the end of the two-year project.
“We marvelled from the old Te Maru as our new building grew and changed, daily and weekly. The final product is an asset to the school, making these students feel centre-stage - valued and important.”
