NZ Post stamps celebrate Te Kura’s 100th anniversary and historic partnership
The Te Kura 100 stamp issue out today (1 June) pays homage to the early decades of Te Kura and recognises a time when all its lessons were delivered by mail.
The close affiliation is a proud one, NZ Post Collectables Programme and Content Manager Lynette Townsend says.
“In the early days, NZ Post was the only mail carrier for Te Kura's resources being sent out to students all over the country.
“We are proud of that affiliation and congratulate Te Kura for reaching a significant milestone.”
Te Kura has a rich and varied history, but its mission has not changed since opening in 1922. New Zealand's largest correspondence and state school, Te Kura has helped educate around two million students aged from two to 90-years-old and has a wide range of personalised programmes and courses.
“The school may have transformed in many ways over the past 100 years, but its core values and mission of providing education to students who would otherwise miss out on an education, has not.”
Students who are already enrolled with a school can also register with Te Kura if they would like to study courses that their own school doesn’t offer. These students are known as a ‘dual student’ – with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern having been one.
In a foreword written for a book about the school titled Going the Distance – 100 years of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu – the Correspondence School, Ardern said she benefited from her correspondence class.
“I count myself as one of the many who benefitted from the reach and influence of Te Kura, picking up a correspondence class in my senior year for a subject that otherwise my school didn’t have the scale to offer,” she said.
The book will be published later this year.
Te Kura Chief Executive Mike Hollings says he’s delighted NZ Post decided to release a stamp series celebrating the school’s centenary.
“We have such a rich and wonderful history and it’s a great opportunity for us to share that story,” Hollings said.