Surprise School Visit With an X Factor - Whenua Patuwai

STUDENTS at St Mary's School had a special treat yesterday when The X Factor New Zealand runner-up Whenua Patuwai dropped in for a surprise visit. The 18-year-old came second on the TV singing competition and was back visiting family in the the district, taking a break before supporting singer Stan Walker on his national tour. http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/ https://www.facebook.com/gisborneherald https://www.youtube.com/gisborneherald Christchurch-born and raised Whenua has family living in the region, including big brother Paora "Mr P" Patuwai and his partner Samantha Steele. Both teach at the primary school and arranged the surprise visit for the 220 students. Some parents and a few teenagers from Campion College across the road also attended.Whenua performed his new single "Something Special" and Walker's single "Take it Easy" to the students, followed by a question and answer session.The students returned the favour by singing a song back to him. Whenua said going on The X Factor NZ was a motivating and world- changing experience. "I was just sitting at home doing nothing and then X Factor came along," he said. He loved his experience on The X Factor NZ and was excited about the tour. He still keeps in touch with judge and mentor Ruby Frost, and fellow Team Ruby contestants, Tom Batchelor and Benny Tipene. X Factor was a big deal but he expected Walker's "world tour of New Zealand" was going to be "100 times" bigger."I'm looking forward to getting to know Stan better and seeing what it's really like in the music world," he said. Although Gisborne is not on the tour itinerary, Whenua encouraged people to go on Stan Walker's Facebook page and let him know they wanted him to come here. "I've been trying to push for Stan to come here, and he is keen and has said 'if you get the people and a venue then I'm there'," Whenua said. "I will definitely be back in Gisborne but at the moment my focus is on the tour." Filmed and Edited by Ben Cowper