Newlands College


Newlands College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the Wellington, New Zealand suburb of Newlands. Opened in February 1970, the school has a roll of students as of
The current principal is Grant Jones. The current deputy principals are Deb Mills, Cornelios Floratos and Susan McDiarmid. John Murdoch, former deputy principal, is now the current principal of Taita College. The school colours are white, red and blue. The school also offers community education for adults. The school offers several art, sport and recreation options, along with each student belonging to a house.

History

Newlands College opened on 3 February 1970 with a starting school roll of 68 students. The land had been owned at different times by the Hogg, Moore and Tunley families, and had been farmed by Bill Hunter. The foundation principal was Rex Sage, who was also the foundation deputy principal of Tawa College, followed by Paul Richardson and, since 2002, Grant Jones who had been a deputy principal and geography teacher at Orewa College in Auckland. However, the school was not complete yet, with the site land causing problems. The first term classes took place in two classrooms at Raroa Normal Intermediate School. The site itself was finished by April, and on 27 April 1970, students and staff shifted to the modern day Newlands College site at Bracken Road. A- block, the first and only permanent building was unfinished at the time. The hall was finished in 1973, and the Recreation Centre in 1985.. In later years, a fully equipped gymnasium with squash courts, a mezzanine classroom and a multi-function room was built co-funded by the local community, a new permanent B- block was added, several pre-fabricated buildings were installed, and a technology and learning support suite were built. Since 2000, Newlands College has also refurbished the library, media and administration areas, built a sports pavilion, a dedicated languages block, and a wharekura dedicated to the study of Te Reo and Te Ao Maori. In coordination with neighbouring Newlands Intermediate School, Newlands College has also added artificial turf to several of its outdoor sports surfaces and has announced further expansion and re-modelling plans as a result of a growing roll and improved weather tightness for some of the buildings housing the administration and staff facilities.

Campus

Newlands College of the Nelson 2H design, like most New Zealand state secondary schools built between 1960 and 1970. The Nelson 2H is distinguished by its two-storey H-shaped classroom blocks, with stairwells at each end of the block and a large ground floor toilet and cloak area on one side. The college has two of these blocks: A block and B block.
Throughout the years, the college has grown substantially, having 1000 students in 2010. B block was built with similar architecture to A block. C block is substantially smaller, with only two classrooms and a storage room. H block has the school hall and a classroom primarily for drama. D block was also built to accommodate the learning support programme. However, in 2009, the building was demolished and rebuilt, while being renamed to the Learning Support Centre. L Block was built in 2006 for languages and visual arts. The Te Ao Marama is a Whare Kura, primarily for teaching Maori and hosting meetings. There is a large P.E. department building, hosting the largest gymnasium in North Wellington, a mezzanine classroom, a room for meetings and drama performances, and a cafeteria. The college also has a large administration area and staffroom. There is a pavilion that overlooks the sports fields for classes, meetings and seating for sports events.

Ethnic composition

The New Zealand Education Review Office provided the following statistics for the month June 2010: European 47%, Asian 23%, Māori 12%, Pasifika 5%, Other 13%. On the International Languages Week of 2009, it was reported that the school was composed of 42 different backgrounds.

Houses

The school has four houses, which form classes are assigned to. They are Kowhai, Matai, Rimu, and Totara which are named after native New Zealand trees. Each house can earn points in inter-house events such as the annual Tabloids sports day, and the House that has accumulated the highest number of points is awarded the Inter-house Cup at the end of the year. The house emblems are placed in order from left to right in the school hall for the current status of the standings. Each Tabloids sports day is generally on the last Friday of February.
Name of
House		ColourTree
Kowhai YellowSophora microphylla
Matai BluePrumnopitys taxifolia
Rimu RedDacrydium cupressinum
Totara GreenPodocarpus totara

Arts

The school is heavily involved in the arts, with several opportunities available to students.
Annually hosted is the school Variety Show which consists of a variety of performances such as Kapa haka, solo singing and drama performances. Almost every year, the school is involved in a production which students and teachers alike can sign up for. Examples are Guys and Dolls, Les Misérables, Grease, The Wizard of Oz, Spamalot, All Shook Up, Hairspray, Rock of Ages, Catch Me If You Can, and Beauty and the Beast. Along with the school production, the Year 12 and 13 Drama classes must produce a production separately. The latter was performed from 18–21 May. The school also partakes in a competition known as the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Competition.
The school has a building specifically for the Visual Arts and languages, the Language and Art Block. This was available at the start of 2006. The school also has a Whare Kura which was named the Te Ao Marama. This was opened on 10 May 2007. At the end of 2008 to the beginning of 2009, the school rebuilt the Learning Support Centre, the A Block toilets and the cafeteria.
Each year, Media Studies classes participate in the production of short films. These short films are edited with Final Cut Pro X and the most appropriate are submitted for the NOSCARS after being classified by the OFLC. If the Office gives a restricted rating, it cannot be screened at the NOSCARS. The NOSCARS were previously held at the Wellington , they are now annually held at the Embassy Theatre. The last NOSCARS event was on 19 September, 2019. Similar to the Oscars, there are awards and prizes.

Sport

Newlands offers a wide range of sporting options to its pupils, 22 in total, with summer, winter and all-year-round sports. Sports that are available include Badminton, Cricket, Soccer, Hockey, Golf, Rugby, Netball, Orienteering, Smallbore rifle shooting, Softball, Squash and Underwater Hockey. The uniform code for sport is also present, with most sports needing standard Newlands College P.E. gear.
In 2010, the Newlands College Boys' softball team won the National Secondary School Softball Championships without conceding a defeat.
In 2015, the Newlands College Boys' basketball team reached the finals of the College Sport Wellington Pohlen Cup. The team ended up being defeated by Onslow College 78-65.

Recreation

The school has an annual Peer Support camp at , which was first held in 1975. The camp is for newcomers to the school, along with final year students. For year 9s, the camp is to settle into the school with friends and a good knowledge of who is who, before setting foot into the classroom. For year 13s, the camp is to learn new leadership skills and sociability. Students are involved in a variety of activities including kayaking, rock climbing, go karts, and team initiative activities. Peer support training is held for year 12s after the NCEA examinations, and the actual camp is held in early February, usually near Waitangi Day. The annual tradition however, was broken for the first time in 2011, but resumed in 2012.
Other camps include the year 12 and 13 Geography trips to the St. Arnaud/Lake Rotoiti region and Tongariro National Park.

Recreation Centre

The Recreation Centre was founded as the Newlands Recreation Centre for the community, as a joint venture between Newlands College and the Wellington City Council. The school now has full ownership over it. The facility contains a gymnasium, one set of male and female changing rooms, a large foyer area, P.E equipment sheds, a reception area, P.E department offices, a kitchen, squash courts and a classroom.

Notable alumni