Whangaparāoa College
| Whangaparāoa College | |
|---|---|
Māori: Kāreti o Whangaparāoa | |
 | |
| Location | |
36°37′54″S 174°44′44″E / 36.6317°S 174.7455°E | |
| Information | |
| Type | Non-Integrated co-ed, Composite (Year 7–13) |
| Motto | Together, Believe, Achieve (Ngatahi, Whakapono, Tutuki) |
| Established | 28 January 2005 |
Ministry of Education Institution no. | 6763 |
Principal | Steve McCracken[1] |
| Enrollment | 1,904[2] (July 2026) |
| Colours |
|
Socio-economic decile | 9Q[3] |
| Former names |
|
| Website | wgpcollege.school.nz |
Whangaparāoa College is a co-educational state secondary school on the Hibiscus Coast of New Zealand. The school has a roll of 1,904[2] students from Years 7 to 13 (as of July 2026), including international students.
History
Prior to the opening of Whangaparāoa College, Orewa College was the sole secondary school operating on the Hibiscus Coast.[4] Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School operated on the site now occupied by Whangaparāoa College.[5]
Announced in 2003,[4] and initially named Stanmore Bay Secondary School,[6] Whangaparāoa College opened on 28 January 2005[5] absorbing Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School.[5] Brian O'Connell served as founding principal until 2012.[7]
As one of several modern high schools to open in the early 2000s alongside Botany Downs Secondary College and Alfriston College,[8] the school's facilities and technology used are leaders in the New Zealand education system,[8] being only the third new high school to open since 1981.[9] Whangaparāoa College positions itself as an environmentally aware site.[10] Recently the school has departed from this environmentally aware stance, with the school increasing the use of AI generated art within its official media. [11]
Following O'Connell's departure, James Thomas served as principal from 2012.[12] In mid-2021, Steve McCracken took over as principal.[13]
Demographics
At the school's latest Education Review Office review in 2016,[14] Whangaparāoa College had 1285 students enrolled. Fifty-two percent of students were female and forty-eight percent were male. Seventy-eight percent of students identified as European New Zealanders (Pākehā), ten percent as Māori, four percent as Asian, two percent as Pasifika, and six percent as another ethnicity.[14]
Whangaparāoa College has an equity index rating of 447[15], placing it amongst schools whose students have below average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 7 under the former socio-economic decile system).[16]
Notes
- ↑ Whangaparaoa College 2021 Staff List, 15 August 2021
- 1 2 "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- 1 2 "New secondary school for Hibiscus Coast planned". The Beehive. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- 1 2 3 "Merger of Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School (6931) and Whangaparaoa College (6763) - 2004-go2735- New Zealand Gazette". gazette.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "School Establishment - 2003-go5689- New Zealand Gazette". gazette.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ Ong, Michelle (24 February 2012). "Principal heads to Sydney". North Harbour News. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Learning in state-of-the-art classrooms". The New Zealand Herald. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "Whangaparaoa College Board of Trustees". wgpcollege.school.nz. 13 June 2004. Archived from the original on 13 June 2004. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "About Us". Whangaparāoa College. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ College, Whangaparāoa. "Technology". Whangaparāoa College. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
- ↑ "Principal's message". Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ↑ Matters, Local (4 June 2021). "New principal for Whangaparaoa College". Local Matters. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- 1 2 "Whangaparaoa College | Education Review Office". ero.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
- ↑ "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.