Top marks for school wool

A pilot programme targeting Year 9 and 10 students and getting them hands-on with wool has been hailed a success, with hopes of a full roll-out to come.

Students at six secondary schools had their woolly thinking challenged in the final term of 2025, in subjects that included art, science, and English.

Teachers have commended the programme, reporting high engagement from students, rich curriculum-linked content and lessons that are enjoyable to teach.

The pilot rounds out a three-year Campaign for Wool NZ (CFWNZ) strategy that has invested strongly into education at all levels.

Chair Ryan Cosgrove says having already established education programmes for early childhood, primary and tertiary students, there was an obvious gap to plug.

“We’d had such great success with the Wool in Schools initiative for primary schools and our containers that travel the country inviting young learners to touch, feel and experience New Zealand strong wool,” says Cosgrove.

“More than 33,000 Kiwi children have been through one of the containers in the 10 years since inception.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Wool Dynamics - launched in 2024 - encourages tertiary product design and architecture students to experiment as they create everything from wine packaging to clothes pegs using woollen fibre.

“There was an opportunity at secondary school level and strong interest in CFWNZ establishing a programme to encourage this key adolescent cohort to learn about wool.”

Participating schools each received a wool innovation kit, containing everything from woollen carpet and twine, to bandages and tennis ball felt.

To support teachers, ready-to-use classroom resources, curriculum-aligned activities and case studies showcasing wool’s role across science, technology, textiles and sustainability in NZ were also included in the programme.

This initiative formed a central part of CFWNZ’s three-year strategic direction, which came to a close at the end of 2025.