Years 9 to 13
Secondary school surf programs
Built around three outcomes that matter at this age: leadership, achievement and confidence. Real progression for teenagers in a real environment, from first waves to genuine surf competence.
What it is
From PE class to line-up
Secondary programs run as single days, term-long PE blocks, or intensive courses. Students build real surfing (paddling fitness, wave selection, unbroken-wave riding) alongside the judgement that matters: reading conditions, managing risk for themselves and their mates, and leading a group in a dynamic environment.
- Single days or term blocks
- From $22 per student
- 1:4-8 ratio depending on age
- Sports teams welcome
Learning outcomes: surf-zone competence in moderate conditions, applied risk decision-making, leadership of peers in the water, and measurable session-on-session progression.
Leadership, achievement, confidence
Why the surf works on teenagers
Leadership in the surf is real, not roleplay: students watch conditions, make calls, and look out for each other, because the environment demands it. Achievement is visible and personal: everyone can point to the wave they could not catch last session and can now. And confidence built against a genuine challenge, at whatever level a student starts from, is the kind that follows them back into the classroom, the team and the exam room.
Senior questions
What secondary teachers ask
What do secondary students get out of a surf program?
Three things we design for deliberately: leadership (students take real responsibility for themselves and their group in the water), achievement (visible, measurable progression from first pop-up toward unbroken waves) and confidence that carries back into school life.
Do you run recurring blocks for PE classes?
Yes. Weekly or fortnightly blocks across a term are our most popular secondary format, building genuine progression from first pop-up to unbroken waves and surf leadership.
What about students who already surf?
They get coached, properly. Whilst they learn as a group, the magic is done in the water, coaching students wave by wave. Experienced surfers find themselves working on technique, wave selection and etiquette, while beginners build fundamentals at their own pace.
Does this work for leadership and prefect groups?
Really well. The surf strips titles away: your head students and first-timers start in the same whitewater, and leading a group in a real environment beats any classroom leadership exercise. Pair a day program with an overnight camp at the Te Arai Eco Pods or the Mangawhai Surf Lodge for the full leadership reset.
Can sports teams use a surf day for training?
Yes, and coaches love it: paddling is a genuine full-body workout, balance and recovery transfer to most codes, and the shared challenge rebuilds team culture fast. Pre-season, mid-season reset or end-of-season reward all work.
What happens when students get hooked?
It happens a lot. We point keen students toward our public youth camps, surf tours and after-school surfing programs, and local boardrider clubs. Building lifelong surfers is the whole point.
What colleges say
Reviews from secondary schools
We have always enjoyed what you guys have done for us... Corne was awesome. He runs things well and work with kids really well.Todd Davidson, Mansfield House Leader Macleans College, roll 3,084
Watching the student surf for the first time, and loving it.Paul Field, Teacher Long Bay College, roll 1,960
Students thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the feedback was very positive especially being their first time on a surfboard. Parents enjoyed themselves on the trip and expressed how well organised it was.Samand Elise Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate
Build a senior program worth running every term
Tell us your class, level and term, and we will send a costed program shape within one school day.