A small-town Waikato primary school has gone viral, racking up more than 20,000 views on social media, helping them win more than $50,000 worth of school supplies.

Mangakino School has been named the winner of Noel Leeming’s first-ever ‘Class of the Future’ competition and will receive brand-new technology.

The prize package includes 24 touchscreen Chromebooks, an interactive screen, classroom furniture, and a professional development package for teachers.

Principal Cherie Hill told the Taupō and Tūrangi Herald the prize package was well-deserved.

Mangakino School once had a roll of 1800 students, when the town was “booming” during construction of hydro-electric stations on the Waikato River, and by 1954 it was the biggest school in the Southern Hemisphere.

The construction workers have long since moved on but the town remains. Buildings had been removed to downsize the school, and it now has about 50 students.

Keiris, a student at Mangakino School was the actor in the viral video.

Since Hill started at the school in 2022, she has been on a “massive journey” with the school board to help remove barriers for students.

Grades have improved, particularly in reading, where achievement has gone from 14% to 68%.

She said they take aspirations of whānau and the wider community as a guiding principal for learning opportunities.

“Our children get the best of everything and that is the way we see things. Our children deserve the best and we go out and get them the best.”

That was the motivation for a viral video made by students to boost their chances of winning the competition and to help them get the “boost” in education that they deserve.

“Let’s face it, our kids can’t wait, why should they wait? They’ve waited ... kids deserve the best.”

Noel Leeming’s education sector lead Sam Gibson, said the competition came about because they were aware of the “digital divide” that existed across classrooms in New Zealand.

“Mangakino School has awesome kids who are really creative. Giving them the equipment that will support them with those key skills so they can have the same opportunities in the future as well, is really important.”

He said after seeing the video entry made by Mangakino School, it was clear they had been through tough times recently, especially with the delay in construction of a new building.

“It sort of struck home in the video when Keiris (the boy in the video) said they had nothing to put in the building, and he meant it when he opened the cupboard. It was just authentic.

“There was a real opportunity and they did an awesome video. But knowing they weren’t quite as well-resourced as some of the other entries, it was thinking about what they could do with the right equipment.

“It seemed like an awesome way to get in and help a community that might not otherwise have those same opportunities.”

The Noel Leeming competition invited schools nationwide to demonstrate in 200 words, or a creative entry, how the prize could enrich their learning. More than 200 entries were received, and Mangakino School won the prize for explaining how the prize would not only transform their classrooms but the wider Mangakino community.

Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.