Learning about Newton’s third law (which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction), young students at Seven Oaks School in Christchurch fire home-made rockets. Physics, geometry and maths were used to design the rockets, work out how to fire them effectively and calculate their speed.

Seven Oaks aimed to combine 'real life experiences' with the academic curriculum, had an eco-literacy focus, encouraged student involvement in the operation of the school, and sought to develop students into 'joyfully empowered adulthood'. Although far from radical in its educational philosophy, Seven Oaks, which opened in 2009, represented a tradition of alternative education among some of New Zealand’s private schools.