Rotorua Boys’ High School has brought Banqer High into its senior pathways classes, giving students a chance to test out money decisions before facing them in real life. Dean of Year 13 and Head of Pathways, Chevez Makan, reflects on how the programme has sparked competition, challenged thinking, and connected directly to the students’ next steps beyond school.
Grounding Money Lessons in Everyday Life
Rotorua Boys’ High School began using Banqer High in 2025 as part of its newly formed Year 13 Pathways class, which every Year 13 student takes. Banqer provides a hands-on way for students to explore financial realities. For Chevez Makan, who led the introduction, the value lies in how the platform makes money decisions tangible.
Chevez was clear about the challenge he wanted to tackle. “My first thought was, what problem are we trying to solve here?” He wanted a way to introduce financial learning in manageable steps.
Banqer breaks it down into things that actually make sense. You don’t just dump everything on them at once. It gets them thinking critically about their choices.
The impact showed quickly. “They were asking me questions about what sort of bank accounts you have or how does this work?”
Sparking Conversations That Stick
For Chevez, the best moments have been when students carried their Banqer learning beyond the classroom.
“They were talking about rent, or they were talking about jobs. Some were already in part-time work, others were just starting to think about it. They were already on that pathway. There was quite a lot of chat around savings accounts: Do I need to open one up? Do you have one? I said absolutely go do it and try and think of a portion of your income you can put away every week.”
The programme also brought future challenges into sharper focus. “When we looked at student loans, they were straight away saying, ‘Oh, that’s coming off my income now.’”
Banqer sparked peer-to-peer learning he hadn’t seen before. “We had a group that started getting into investing. A few of the boys had been on Sharesies for a number of years and started sharing their journey. Everyone got into it and it was an organic learning experience.”
They were learning from each other and not from me, and that conversation wouldn’t have sparked had we not been doing Banqer.
Turning Competition into Learning
That depth often began with something simple: competition.
“Of course everyone wants to be the richest in the class,” Chevez laughs. “They really bought into the idea of trying to get ahead. It gave them a hook, but underneath that you’d hear conversations like, ‘Is this the best way to invest? Should I be saving instead?’”
The rivalry was only part of the story. “One student got really focused on saving to stay on top of the leaderboard. Another realised what it meant when a loan was deducted from his pay. If they’re learning something along the way, that’s prime time.”
Sharing the Value
Chevez first came across Banqer at a conference and saw its potential for his Year 13 students. With the support of Banqer’s Champion Partner Kiwibank, the school was able to get started and bring the programme to the whole cohort.
He wanted that support to be acknowledged widely. “I shared it through our biggest platforms: the school newsletter and the yearbook, so our community knew who was supporting us.”
For Chevez, it was about more than recognition. Highlighting Kiwibank’s support showed families and the wider community that the programme is backed by partners who believe in giving students practical tools they can carry into life beyond school.
Putting Banqer Into Practice
Rolling out Banqer at Rotorua Boys’ High came with some nerves, but Chevez says those quickly passed. “At first I was a bit anxious about introducing new software, but once it was up and running it turned out to be easy to use, and the students responded straight away.”
What mattered most was how well it fit his students’ lives.
It lines up with what they’re going through right now and what they’re about to face. That’s why it works. It’s fun, it’s competitive, but it’s also preparing them for what’s coming next.
His advice for other schools is straightforward. “Be honest and open. My dealings with everyone at Banqer have been fantastic and they’ve always tried to accommodate my questions and issues. The benefits of running the program are well worth trying something new and innovative. Give it a crack. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
