This research study aims to bring light to the experiences of Pacific students in the Health Science Academy (HSA). The HSA programme was established to support academic achievement of Pacific students in secondary science and encourage them to join a healthcare career (Middleton et al., 2019). More Pacific people are needed in the healthcare workforce as this may help make the healthcare sector more culturally responsive, leading to a more comfortable environment for Pacific peoples to seek medical advice (Brown, 2018). In return, this may improve the health of Pacific people and the general population of New Zealand.

The research was conducted at two Auckland secondary schools. Each school had a focus group session where participants spoke about their experiences of the HSA. This included the aspects they found helpful and the aspects they thought could be improved. The findings were later analysed using thematic processes.

Through this research, it was found that the participating students were all intending to join the healthcare sector. The trips that students went on were informative and allowed the students to make career choices that suited them. Career advice was appreciated by all students as it brought clarity and gave students a goal to work towards. As the students knew what they were aiming for, it gave them the motivation to do well academically. It was noted that tutorials must be regular. The tutorials supported the students’ academic achievement as it prepared them for assessments. Mentoring sessions also supported learning as students were able to build positive relationships with their mentor teachers and peers. The students supported each other’s learning. This led to a comfortable and safe environment for students to learn as they were able to seek help without having the fear of being judged.

This research has its limitations as only two of the thirteen schools within the HSA participated. Both focus groups had five participants. The participant size was too small to represent the voice of all Pacific students of New Zealand. All the participants at both schools were females, hence the responses were mainly from a female perspective. Since, the male voice in this research was practically silent, the findings cannot be homogenized to be the voice of all Pacific students in New Zealand. Hence, no major changes to the HSA programmer are suggested, however, some recommendations for schools who are part of the HSA and those who are not are provided.