St Paul’s Collegiate School has spent more than a decade strengthening writing through a partnership that began with a simple but pressing concern.  Students were moving between classes and encountering completely different writing expectations.  Paragraph structures varied.  Higher-order thinking was inconsistent.  For years, this issue had been “burning away” at Deputy Headmaster of Academic and Curriculum, Jeremy Coley.  When Dr Ian Hunter visited the school, everything clicked.  “He was talking about exactly what our concerns were,” Foley recalls.  “When he drew up his ideas, it really struck a chord.”

St Paul’s became one of the first schools in New Zealand to adopt Writer’s Toolbox, committing to a structured approach that could lift writing across all ability levels.  What impressed Coley most was how universal the programme was.  It supported students with severe learning differences, students who struggled with literacy, and high-achieving students preparing for scholarship examinations.  “It helped the whole gamut of the student experience,” he says.

The school believed so strongly in the approach that the leadership team mandated its use as a formal school goal for four years.  Teachers embedded the writing language across subjects, from English and science to social sciences and sports science.  Once the programme became part of the school culture, the mandate was no longer needed.  Consistency had taken hold.

“Dip your toes in the water.  I thoroughly recommend it.  If you devote resources to it, you will never regret it.  I unequivocally recommend Writer’s Toolbox.”

The impact was unmistakable.  Student engagement in writing increased.  Teachers reported clearer thinking, more controlled paragraphs, and stronger planning.  Scholarship results in writing-heavy subjects rose significantly.  Coley has observed the long-term impact most clearly in senior academic performance.  Students know how to plan essays, build arguments, link paragraphs, and write with clarity and confidence.  “Writer’s Toolbox gives students that starting block,” he explains.  “Where to start, how to plan, how to tackle an examination essay, how to write concise introductions and robust conclusions.”

Looking back, Coley offers simple advice to other schools.  “Dip your toes in the water.  I thoroughly recommend it.  If you devote resources to it, you will never regret it.  I unequivocally recommend Writer’s Toolbox.”