Mount Albert Grammar School

Mount Albert Grammar School
Location
36 Alberton Avenue

Auckland
,
1025

New Zealand

36°53′4.52″S 174°43′31.2″E / 36.8845889°S 174.725333°E / -36.8845889; 174.725333
Information
TypeState secondary, day and boarding
MottoLatin: Per Angusta Ad Augusta
(Through Hardship to Glory)
Established1922; 104 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no.
69
HeadmasterPatrick Drumm
Grades9–13
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment3,625[1] (July 2026)
Socio-economic decile
7 (2015)[2]
Alumni name
Albertians
Websitemags.school.nz

Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. As of March 2026, Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in New Zealand, behind Rangitoto College.[3][4]

History

Mount Albert Grammar was founded in 1922 as a subsidiary of Auckland Grammar School, but now the two schools are governed separately. Mount Albert Grammar School was originally boys only, but became co-educational in 2000.[5] Junior classes (years 9 and 10) are mostly single-sex while senior classes (years 11 to 13) are all co-educational.[6] The School's Latin motto is Per Angusta Ad Augusta, which means "Through Hardship to Glory". The school hymn, sung at all formal assemblies, was written by a student, J. A. W. Bennett, in 1928.[7]

There have been a number of headmasters since the opening of the school, Frederick Gamble (1922–1946), William Caradus (1946–1954), Murray Nairn (1954–1969), Maurice Hall (1970–1988), Gregory Taylor (1988–2006, the first Albertian to become Headmaster), Dale Burden (2006–2015), and the current headmaster, Patrick Drumm (2016–).[8]

The school's hall was opened on 11 March 1926 by Sir James Parr after construction during 1925.[9]

After the opening of the school, a need for boarding accommodation for students became apparent. In 1927, the Mount Albert Grammar School Hostel opened for boarders at 807 New North Road. This hostel closed in 1970 and a new one was opened in 1971, built on one of the school's playing fields.[10] This is a boys' boarding hostel called School House. It has full-time accommodation for up to 105 students during school terms.[11]

During the Great Depression, the school introduced an agricultural course for familiar who could not afford four years of professional education. The school purchased 20 acres of the Kerr Taylor estate near Alberton with the help of a donation from the Auckland Savings Bank, and established a farm for students in February 1933.[12]

In 1989, the school underwent major reforms under principal Greg Taylor, including the abolition of corporal punishment and the introduction of women teachers. Taylor employed support staff for Pasifika students, who increasingly made up a large proportion of the school in the 1980s.[12]

In the year 2000, the school became coeducational, allowing girls to attend.[12]

In October 2015, an email containing a pornographic image was sent to all the school's 2,700 students after the school's email database was reportedly hacked by one of the school's students. The email database was immediately shut down and an investigation was started into who was responsible.[13][14] The school laid a complaint with police and sought the assistance of the Department of Internal Affairs.[15]

The school purchased what was meant to be a girls' hostel, but due to the Auckland housing crisis turned into accommodation for teachers as well as being a girls' hostel.[16] The complex is located 6 minute walk away from MAGS on Lloyd Avenue.[17]

On 24 July 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern officially opened the school's new science block, known as CS block and honouring the school's second headmaster, William Caradus. This was set to take place on March 24, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] The block has been in use since classes commenced for the 2020 school year.

View of the Nairn block (left) and its surrounding courtyard

In 2024, construction finished on the new MN block, named after MAGS' third headmaster, Murray Nairn.[19] The three-story building received a dawn blessing on 3 May 2024, and was subsequently opened by National MP Melissa Lee on 27 June of the same year.[19] Designed by ASC Architects, the MN block houses sixteen social sciences classrooms, as well a specialised room to be used by the school's Māori unit, Te Puna o Wairaka.[20][19] The entire ground floor is used as the school's library.[19]

Academia

Mount Albert Grammar School pupils participate in various forms of academia, from year 9 to year 13.

In 2015, 93.8 percent of students leaving Mount Albert Grammar held at least NCEA Level 1, 87.7 percent held at least NCEA Level 2, and 67.8 percent held at least NCEA Level 3. This is compared to 88.4%, 79.1%, and 52.8% respectively for all students nationally.[21]

Sports

In 2007 and 2009, MAGS won all the major Auckland titles in rugby, association football and netball. The First XI girls football and the Premier Girls Basketball also won their first Auckland Championships in 2009.[22]

In 2008, one sports staff member and a parent coach were suspended by the schools' sport body College Sport and nine students who had transferred to the school were prevented from playing by rules designed to prevent poaching of young players.[23][24] As a result, the school implemented a sporting Code of Conduct for all students, staff and coaches. This ultimately led to the dismissal of Director of Football, Kevin Fallon.[25]

Culture and Arts

Mount Albert Grammar School is involved in many cultural activities, with their curriculum including music, dance, drama, and visual arts courses. In recent years, their boys' and girls' choirs have had success in regional and national choral competitions, receiving awards at the Big Sing Auckland Regional Festival in 2025.[26] In 2026, their boys' Centennial Choir was announced as a finalist for the national Big Sing, held in Christchurch.[27]

MAGS has its own school hymn, 'Dusk on the Walls', which is sung at all formal school assemblies, normally accompanied by live piano. It was written by MAGS student Jack A. W. Bennett in 1928.[7] The lyrics to the hymn were analysed in a report written by Brian Murphy, the School Archivist.[28][29]

Also within the cultural pillar is the school's Māori unit, Te Puna o Owairaka, made up of students from all year levels. The unit focuses on strengthening traditions among Māori students through the teaching of te reo Māori, kapa haka, and waiata.[30]

Mt Albert Aquatic Centre

The Mt Albert Aquatic Centre was developed as a joint project between Mount Albert Grammar School and the Auckland City Council. It was officially opened by the Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1998. The facility contains a 25-metre competition pool with depths measuring from 1.2 metres to 3 metres, and a leisure pool that features wave motion and a water slide.[31] The complex consists of other features visited by the public often. However, in 2016 the pool was noted to be unsafe due to its vulnerability to earthquakes. The pool is set to be either fixed or demolished in the next ten years.[32]

Mount Albert Grammar School Farm

This is a photo of the Mount Albert Grammar School Farm[33] as seen from the upper floor of MH Block, formerly known as D Block.

Since 1933, Mount Albert Grammar School has a 10.8-hectare (27-acre) farm adjacent to its school site in the middle of Auckland city. It is a fully working model farm, home to sheep, pigs, rabbits, cattle and poultry, cared for by a farm manager who lives on site. The land was owned by the ASB Bank, which leased the farm for 1 dollar every year until 2022, when ASB gifted the farm to the school.[34]

Observatory

The school is one of a few schools in New Zealand with an active observatory and possesses a telescope open to students and the public occasionally. Completed in 2008, the observatory has a Meade Instruments LX200R 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain f/10 telescope. The observatory uses an SBIG ST7XME CCD camera for imaging and photometry.

The observatory is used for both school education and amateur research.

ERO report

In 2018, the New Zealand Education Review Office carried out a survey, finding that the school uses National Certificate of Educational Achievement and celebrates its students achievements through the Lion Awards programme. Its educational achievement level is above the national average, making Mt Albert Grammar one of the top seven schools in the country. The ethnic minorities of the school have shifted the balance since the 2015 review. By that, 91% of Māori and 85% of Pasifika students gained NCEA Level 2 in 2017.[35]

Demographics

As of 2018, the school enrolls 2,991 students, out of which 57% are male and 43% are female. Out of those, 40% are of European descent, 23% are Asian, 19% are identified as Pasifika, 3% are MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African) and 2% are of other ethnicity.[35]

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:[7]

Academia

Art

Entertainment

Government

Industry

Sports

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Are you in one of NZ's biggest high schools? | School Leaver NZ". schoolleaver.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  4. ↑ "About the school". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar School for Girls". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar School Prospectus 2019" (PDF). Mount Albert Grammar School. September 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Notable Albertians". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 18 October 2005.
  8. ↑ "History and Archives". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Hall" (PDF). Mount Albert Grammar School. June 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Boarding – Welcome". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Boys - School House". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Dunsford, Deborah (2016). Mt Albert Then and Now: a History of Mt Albert, Morningside, Kingsland, St Lukes, Sandringham and Owairaka. Auckland: Mount Albert Historical Society. p. 111, 194-196. ISBN 978-0-473-36016-0. OCLC 964695277. Wikidata Q117189974.
  13. ↑ "Porn email sent to 2700 students". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  14. ↑ "Porn emailed to Auckland school students". Newshub. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar High lays police complaint over porn email". Radio NZ. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  16. ↑ "Housing crisis forces school to build cut-price teacher flats instead of student hostel". Stuff. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  17. ↑ "Mt Albert Grammar School opening girls hostel for first time". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax NZ. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  18. ↑ Hepburn, Graham (24 July 2020). "PM Officially Opens William Caradus Building". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Hepburn, Graham (27 June 2024). "Nairn Building Officially Opened - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 7 April 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar School". INSOL. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "School Qualifications – Mount Albert Grammar School". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  22. ↑ Terry Maddaford (26 August 2009). "School Thrilled by Clean Sweep". New Zealand Herald. NZME. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  23. ↑ Martha McKenzie-Minifiee (10 May 2008). "Schools sin-binned over sport poaching". New Zealand Herald. NZME. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "Schools' anti-poaching rule lands stars in limbo". The New Zealand Herald. NZME. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  25. ↑ Vaimoana Tapaleao (29 July 2014). "Star Coach sacked". New Zealand Herald. NZME. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "The Big Sing Auckland Regional Festival 2025 — Awards" (PDF). New Zealand Choral Federation. 20 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ↑ "2026 Cadenza and Finale choirs announced". NZ Choral Federation. 22 June 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "J. A. W. Bennet and The School Hymn" (PDF). Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  29. ↑ "Albertians Association - Welcome". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  30. ↑ "Te Puna o Wairaka - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "Mt Albert Aquatics Centre :: Aquatic Facilities". www.mountalbertaquatics.co.nz. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  32. ↑ "Future uncertain for public pool in Mt Albert". NZ Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "ASB MAGS Farm". Mount Albert Grammar School. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  34. ↑ "ASB gifts farm to MAGS". Mount Albert Grammar School. October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  35. 1 2 "Mt Albert Grammar School". Education Review Office. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "Biography - Dr Michael Bassett". www.michaelbassett.co.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  37. ↑ "Jack Bennett | Creative and intellectual expatriates | Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  38. 1 2 "Successful Albertians & Albertian Biographies - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  39. ↑ "About Graeme Davies". Triarchy Press. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  40. ↑ "Peter CB Phillips". NZAE : New Zealand Association of Economists. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  41. ↑ "Discovery". profiles.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  42. ↑ "Sinclair, Keith | Dictionary of New Zealand Biography | Te Ara". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  43. ↑ "Successful Albertians & Albertian Biographies - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  44. ↑ "PETER SIDDELL (1935 - 2011) - Front Door - unframed". International Art Centre. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  45. ↑ "Inductees - 30 June 2008 - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  46. ↑ "Kiwi Minecraft playing dog video goes viral". NZ Herald. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  47. ↑ Government, Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Commerce School of (24 July 2020). "Dr Alan Bollard | Te Kura Kāwanatanga / School of Government | Te Herenga Waka". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  48. ↑ "Dr Alan Bollard - 2015 - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  49. ↑ "Christopher Liddell". iop.harvard.edu. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  50. ↑ "Christopher P. Liddell | Council on Foreign Relations". www.cfr.org. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  51. ↑ "Christopher P. Liddell | Miller Center". millercenter.org. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  52. ↑ Hepburn, Graham (21 March 2018). "New White House role for Chris Liddell - Mount Albert Grammar School". Mount Albert Grammar School. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  53. ↑ "Robert Muldoon | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  54. ↑ "Our History - Fisher & Paykel Appliances NZ". www.fisherpaykel.com. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  55. 1 2 Mandy Te (11 March 2018). "Housing crisis forces school to build cut-price teacher flats instead of student hostel". Stuff. Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  56. 1 2 "Adrian Hyland: Hard graft in high-stakes". New Zealand Herald. NZME. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  57. ↑ Estelle Sarney (15 June 2017). "Albertians against the Lions". Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  58. ↑ "Canberra Raiders sign former Junior All Black". Sporting News. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  59. ↑ Taylah Hodson-Tomokino (26 April 2018). "Time to stop forcing netball down our girls' throats". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax NZ. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
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