Pupils at Waitaki Boys' High School might have begun a cottage industry for the school through their technology classes.
The boys are dismantling old wooden pallets and turning them into "upcycled'' furniture, to be sold at the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park.
The project began this term with nine pupils in Henry Jones' year 11 workshop.
Next to come on board were 18 more of Mr Jones' year 11 pupils, who began to design items, using 3-D printers for modelling.
Head of technology Rick Suter soon became involved and several of his year 13 pupils began to tackle custom projects.
"It's a real success story. They're kids who may have historically left school, but they're staying.''
Pupils bought about 30 wooden pallets for $1 each, and dismantled them to recover the timber.
Sione Kaufusi made an end table.
He said he was proud of his work and enjoyed using a crowbar, drop-saw, power drill, hammer and nails, and a belt sander and orbital sander to create the furniture.
What started as recovered materials from a $1 pallet could be sold at the Waitaki Resource Recovery Park for $50.
The profits would be shared with the recovery park, the school, and the pupil getting a third of the proceeds each.
