u/Yakcall

Here is what is on this weekend, don't forget that Burger Wellington is still on as well. Here is all the Lower Hutt places offering burgers https://www.reddit.com/r/LowerHutt/comments/1vgmq53/whats_on_in_lower_hutt_this_weekend_burger_lower/

📚 Recycled Reading 2nd Hand Book Sale

A giant Eastbourne Lions book sale, themed around books for kids. Daily to Sunday.

📍 San Antonio School, 78 Oroua Street, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt | 🕚 Daily to Sun 16 Aug, 10am-4pm | 💰 Free entry

🍛 Onavirunnu 2026 - Onam Festival & Sadhya Feast

Kerala's biggest celebration comes to Petone with an unlimited traditional Onam sadhya, sweet payasams, a pookkalam flower arrangement, a festive photo booth and cultural performances. Proceeds go to the church building fund.

📍 Indian Cultural Centre, 119/121 Nelson Street, Petone | 🕚 Sat 11am-4pm | 💰 Adults $28, children $18, under-5s free (+ fees), book a sitting

🍛 BNZ Hoops in Parks

Join us as we celebrate the launch of BNZ Hoops in Parks at Walter Nash Park - an afternoon of hoops, music and connection for the whole whānau. Appearances from Wellington Saints and Tokomanawa Queens players

📍 Walter Nash Park, Taitā | 🕚 Sat 1.30pm-4pm | 💰 free

🇮🇳 India Day featuring Gurnam Bhullar

A celebration of Indian culture headlined by Gurnam Bhullar, with dance and seriously good food.

📍 Lower Hutt Town Hall, 30c Laings Road, Lower Hutt | 🕡 Sat from 6pm | 💰 $28.92 balcony GA (incl. fees), ground passes are organiser holds

Here is what is on this weekend as always, if you know of any other events on, post them in the comments. I'm hoping I'll get out to enjoy a burger or three sometime over the next couple of weeks.

📚 Recycled Reading - 2nd Hand Book Sale

The Eastbourne Lions book sale is back with a kids-books theme, proceeds to children's reading groups.

📍 San Antonio School, 78 Oroua Street, Lower Hutt | 🕚 Fri 10am-4pm | 💰 Free admission | 🎟 All ages | Also Sat and Sun 10am-4pm

🍔 Burger Wellington 2026

245 burgers across the region with 21 in Lower Hutt for Visa Wellington On a Plate, running 3-23 August. Prices set by each venue, please double check times and if bookings required!

🍔 The Angus Restaurant and Bar - PB&J Brisket
Beef brisket patty, with peanut butter bacon jam and a pineapple-citrus jam in a Breadcraft brioche bun.
📍 The Angus Restaurant and Bar, 5 Cornwall Street, Hutt Central, 5010 | 🕛 Dinner Mon-Sun | 💰 $28 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Baylands Brewery Taproom - Heart-a-Stack
Double fried chicken, with a Belgium waffle, bacon, bourbon bacon jam, cheddar, sweet and spicy pickles, and picklenaise in a Cottage Lane seeded brioche bun, with hash sticks.
📍 Baylands Brewery Taproom, 22 Victoria Street, Petone | 🕛 Lunch Fri-Sun, Dinner Wed-Sun | 💰 $32 | Dine-in Only

🍔 The Victoria Tavern - Bisque Anyone?
Coconut soubise braised snapper, with prawn gribiche, Kingsmeade pecorino, red onion, tomato, butter crunch lettuce, chilli jam, and crayfish bisque in a Brumbies squid ink bun, with taro crisps.
📍 The Victoria Tavern, 140 Jackson Street, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Tue-Sun | 💰 $34 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Seashore Cabaret Cafe - Coastal Crackle
Pork belly, with mango salsa, coleslaw, pork crackling, pineapple, Apostle Hot Sauce, and sriracha honey mayonnaise in a brioche bun, with steak fries.
📍 Seashore Cabaret Cafe, 160 The Esplanade, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Lunch Mon-Sun, Dinner Thu-Sun | 💰 $29 | Dine-in Only

🍔 Grazie - Lower Hutt - Blue Smoke Union
Angus beef patty, with Stef the Māori horopito spice, mānuka-smoked bacon, and blue carbonara fondue in a Shelly Bay Baker parmesan-crusted ciabatta, with handcut chips.
📍 Grazie - Lower Hutt, 72 High Street, Hutt Central, 5010 | 🕛 Lunch Mon-Sat, Dinner Mon-Thu | 💰 $32 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Puku Pies & Kai - Petone - Tu Meke
Two cheese sauce stuffed beef patties, with pickles, red onion, burger sauce and ketchup in a Pōneke Bakery brioche bun and pie pastry.
📍 Puku Pies & Kai - Petone, 47 The Esplanade, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Breakfast & Lunch Mon-Sun | 💰 $16 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Gear Street Union - Mouthful of Flavour
Beef patty and beef brisket, with Kāpiti cheese sauce, pickles, Montreal seasoning, and burger sauce in a Pōneke Bakery brioche bun, with loaded curly fries and cheese sauce.
📍 Gear Street Union, 18 Gear Street, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sun | 💰 $30 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Rizzo's Pizzeria & Kitchen - BLT Italiano
Chicken thigh, with bacon, cos lettuce, sundried tomato pesto, and ricotta red pepper mayonnaise in a Pōneke Bakery brioche bun.
📍 Rizzo's Pizzeria & Kitchen, 499-501 Hutt Road, Alicetown, 5010 | 🕛 Dinner Wed-Sun, Lunch Fri-Sun | 💰 $25 | Dine-in, Takeaway & Delivery

🍔 The Crooked Elm - Loud Mouth
Fried chicken, with papadom, spinach, onions and reduced butter chicken sauce, dukkah raita and kasundi in an Arobake potato bun with roasted masala spuds.
📍 The Crooked Elm, 25 Laings Road, Hutt Central, 5011 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Tue-Sun, Breakfast Sat-Sun | 💰 $30 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 The Hardware Bar and Restaurant - Stokes Valley Beast
Beef patty, with bacon, blue cheese, aged cheddar, hash brown, onion jam, tomato, cos lettuce, onion rings, Prana Greens coriander, and smoked BBQ sauce and aioli in a brioche bun.
📍 The Hardware Bar and Restaurant, 8 Evans Street, Stokes Valley, 5012 | 🕛 Dinner Tue-Sun, Lunch Fri-Sun, Breakfast Sat-Sun | 💰 $28 | Dine-in, Takeaway & Delivery

🍔 Dirty Burger - Petone - No Glove, No Love
Smashed Wagyu beef patty, with pork belly, American cheese, pickles, and maple cream cheese in a Dirty Donuts BBQ donut glazed brioche bun.
📍 Dirty Burger - Petone, 237 Jackson Street, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Dinner Mon-Sun, Lunch Thu-Sun | 💰 $20 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Abandoned Petone - Local Jerk
Fried jerk chicken thigh, with pickled red cabbage, American cheese, mango-habanero-rum BBQ sauce, and thyme aioli in a Brezelmania brioche bun, with Creole spiced fries and a jerk bacon skewer.
📍 Abandoned Petone, 38 Fitzherbert Street, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Tue-Sun | 💰 $29 | Dine-in, Takeaway & Delivery

🍔 Tutaki Cafe - Tang65
Chicken 65 patty, with tamarind leather, potato rosti, chilli-pickled onion, iceberg lettuce, coriander chutney, and Kāpiti blue cheese yoghurt in a Shelly Bay Baker brioche bun, with podi-spiced chips and garlic confit aioli.
📍 Tutaki Cafe, 30 C Laings Road, Hutt Central, 5010 | 🕛 Lunch Mon-Sun | 💰 $28 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Little Manila - Cluck and Tell
Sesame-glazed chicken thigh, with oakleaf lettuce, rainbow coleslaw, acharra pickles, Manila mayo, and sticky sesame sauce in a Breadcraft buttermilk bun, with fries.
📍 Little Manila, Cnr Queens Drive and Bunny Street, Hutt Central, 5011 | 🕛 Breakfast & Lunch Mon-Sun, Dinner Thu | 💰 $23 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 The Speight's Ale House - Cornered Seamus
Taylor Preston corned silverside, with smoked cheddar, colcannon hash, and mustard sauce in a Brumbies stout potato bun, with salt and vinegar fries.
📍 The Speight's Ale House, 75-81 Jackson Street, Petone, 5010 | 🕛 Dinner Mon-Sun, Lunch Thu-Sun | 💰 $31 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Brew'd Boulcott - Jerk Gone Berserk
Beef patty, with charred pineapple, onion rings, bacon, Kāpiti cheese, pickled cucumber, shredded lettuce, jerk BBQ sauce, and sriracha mayonnaise in a Pōneke Bakery brioche bun, with jerk seasoned fries.
📍 Brew'd Boulcott, 669 High Street, Lower Hutt, 5010 | 🕛 Dinner Tue-Sun, Lunch Fri-Sun | 💰 $28 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Twenty Eight - A Little Bit Cheeky
Smashed beef patty, slow-cooked beef cheek, with smoked provolone, umami potato crispies, butterhead lettuce, pickled red onion, and preserved Yuzu salsa verde in a Brezelmania sesame brioche bun, with fries.
📍 Twenty Eight, 28 Cornwall Street, Lower Hutt, 5010 | 🕛 Lunch Mon-Sat | 💰 $29 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 Gorilla Burger - Petone - Speak No Evil
Chicken thigh, with Kāpiti blue cheese, Nashville seasoning, bánh mì coleslaw, and mayonnaise in a Pōneke Bakery sesame seed milk bun.
📍 Gorilla Burger - Petone, 18 Gear Street, Petone, 5012 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sun | 💰 $23 | Dine-in, Takeaway & Delivery

🍔 Bellbird Eatery - Lamb-da Rassa Pao
Lamb smash patty and pulled lamb shoulder, with cheddar, pickled onion, Zany Zeus mint yoghurt chakka, lettuce, LOUDER peanut chilli thecha, and thecha mayonnaise in a Clareville Bakery sorghum milk pav bun, with spice fries.
📍 Bellbird Eatery, The Dowse Art Museum, 45 Laing's Rd, Hutt Central, 5012 | 🕛 Breakfast & Lunch Mon-Sun, Dinner Fri-Sat | 💰 $30 | Dine-in Only (Bookings Required)

🍔 O'Malleys Bar & Kitchen - Saint Pattie
Hardy Street Quality Meats lorne sausage and Jameson whiskey braised pulled pork, with cheddar, pickles, and relish in an Arobake potato bun, with colcannon croquettes and Guinness gravy.
📍 O'Malleys Bar & Kitchen, 612 Marine Drive, Days Bay, Eastbourne, 5013 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sun | 💰 $33 | Dine-in & Takeaway

🍔 The Empire - T H Chicken
Buttermilk fried chicken, with guacamole, pineapple, Prana Greens coriander, pickled cucumber, ranch coleslaw, and kewpie mayonnaise in a brioche bun, with fries.
📍 The Empire, 175 Jackson Street, Petone, 5210 | 🕛 Lunch & Dinner Mon-Sun | 💰 $29 | Dine-in & Takeaway (Bookings Required)

Key details:

From 2028 NCEA will be replaced with a new National Qualification.

2028 – Foundational Award at Year 11

2029 – NZCE at Year 12

2030 – NZACE at Year 13

These qualification changes are being developed alongside the new knowledge-rich senior secondary curriculum so that what students learn and how they are assessed are properly aligned.

Students in Years 12 and 13 will study at least five subjects each year, with a pass in a minimum of three subjects required to achieve each qualification.

NZCE and NZACE will require a student to have foundational literacy and numeracy skills gained through the Foundational Award, which is benchmarked at Year 11, and typically sat in Year 11, although it can be sat at any time.

The Foundational Award can also be awarded if a student passes English or Mathematics in year 12 or 13 instead of the year 11 assessment.

Transitional arrangements will be in place for two years, so that students can use the current literacy and numeracy corequisite to be awarded the Foundational Award. It will be clearly stated on a student’s record of achievement if they used the corequisite to gain the award.

Records of Achievement will clearly show how many subjects a student has passed, eg. NZCE 4, NZCE 5, NZCE 6 to encourage students to strive to achieve their personal best.

A clear six-point grading scale (A+, A, B, C, D and E) will apply across every subject, making results easier to understand and giving parents, employers, and tertiary providers a much clearer understanding of student achievement

Students who achieve strong results across all five subjects will also be eligible for two endorsement awards recognising outstanding academic performance and encouraging students to aim high and achieve excellence across more subjects.

Every subject will include internal assessments and an external examination, with the weighting of the examination varying depending on the curriculum area and the nature of the subject.

From 2028, Science | Pūtaiao will become a compulsory subject in Year 11 alongside English | Te Reo Rangatira and Mathematics | Pāngarau.

This qualification is designed to reward hard work, encourage young people to strive to do their very best, and properly recognise their achievements.

Students currently in Year 9 will be the first cohort to progress through the new qualifications, supported by a clearer curriculum. The new qualifications are, rigorous, credible, internationally comparable, and set students up for success.