Agricultural and horticultural science returns at year 11
Industry skills boards are writing nine new school subjects, including a vocational food and fibre subject.
|November 3, 2026Listen to the full interview:
Agricultural and horticultural science returns as a standalone year 11 subject, with a draft out for consultation by the end of the year.
Education Minister Erica Stanford says ministry advice was that schools could teach year 11 general science through an agricultural and horticultural lens. Principals and experts found the new year 11 to 13 science curriculum didn’t give them that flexibility. “We thought that they could. They can’t. So now we’ve changed it,” she says.
She says finalised curriculum documents are due early next year.
The subject leads into the existing year 12 and 13 agricultural and horticultural science and the new food and fibre vocational subject.
She says about 12,000 students took the subject.
Industry skills boards are writing nine new industry-led subjects.
Watch the full interview:
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