Westlake Girls High School is a state girls secondary school, located to the west of Lake Pupuke in Takapuna,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The school was established in 1958 as a coeducational school, changing to girls only in 1962 when Westlake Boys High School opened. Westlake Girls has a roll of approximately students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18), making one of the largest single-sex schools in New Zealand. The school is divided into five house groups: Akoranga (black), Hauraki (yellow), Onewa (red), Pupuke (blue) and Wairau (green).

History

The school has its origin in 1958, when it opened as a

co-ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

institution. In 1962 Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys High School emerged as separate schools, though they maintain relations. After three decades of service, principal Alison Gernhoefer retired at the end of 2011, succeeded by Roz Mexted. In the

1994 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday. Publication dates vary from year to year. Most are published in supplements to the ''London Gazette'' and many are formally conferred by the monarch (or ...

, Gernhoefer was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services. The Gernhoefer Administration building is named in her honour. She died on 12 April 2022. Mexted was principal from November 2011 to November 2016. Changes during her tenure were the introduction of a new Junior and Senior uniform, and the development of the undercover netball and tennis courts visible from the motorway. The house system was also updated in an effort to increase school unity and spirit. Jane Stanley was appointed to succeed Mexted and took up the position of principal at the beginning of the second term in May 2017. She is married to former Olympic rower

Mike Stanley Robert Michael Stanley (born June 25, 1963) is an American former college and professional baseball player who was a catcher in Major League Baseball for fifteen years. Stanley played college baseball for the University of Florida, and thereaft ...

Westlake Girls and Boys

Physically merely a few hundred metres apart, Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys engage in an annual theatrical production together, several joint musical ensembles (including a joint choir, two orchestras, a concert band and a jazz band), and some social dances, among other things. The two schools share a motto – ''Virtute Experiamur'' (''Let Courage Be Thy Test'').

Principals

Notable alumni

Rosie Cheng Rosie Cheng (; born 1 August 1998) is a New Zealand former tennis player of Chinese descent. Cheng made her WTA Tour debut at the 2015 ASB Classic, having received a wildcard into the doubles tournament with Katherine Westbury. They faced Pet ...

– tennis player * Erin Naylor – association footballer *

Jo Aleh Joanna Ayela Aleh (born 15 May 1986) is a New Zealand sailor. She is a national champion, a former world champion, and an Olympic gold medallist. Aleh competes in the two-woman 470 dinghy, a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a cen ...

– sailor *

Alethea Boon Alethea Boon is an athlete from New Zealand. She represented New Zealand in artistic gymnastics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and in weightlifting at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Boon was born in Suva, Fiji, and ...

– athlete, gymnast, weightlifter * Cathie Dunsford – novelist, poet, anthologist, lecturer and publishing consultant * Joanne Gair – artist, bodypainter *

Nikki Jenkins Nikki Jenkins (born 1976) is a retired New Zealand artistic gymnast. Aged 14, she won gold at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, and she remains the youngest New Zealander to have won a gold medal at Commonwealth or Olympic Games. Jenkins won th ...

– gymnast * Jenny Kirk – politician *

Kayla McAlister Kayla Ahki (née McAlister; born 6 August 1988) is a New Zealand netball and rugby sevens player. She has previously played for the Northern Mystics in 2011, and was a training partner in 2012, and currently plays for the NZ Women's Rugby S ...

– rugby sevens player * Judy Millar – artist *

Carol Oyler Carol Mary Oyler (born 12 August 1947) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter. She appeared in five Test matches for New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pac ...

– cricketer *

Anona Pak Anona Pak (born 29 November 1993) is a New Zealand badminton player. She was the women's doubles runner-up at the Waikato International tournament partnered with Vicki Copeland. She also received 2016 Massey University Manawatu sportswoman of th ...

– badminton player *

Katie Perkins Katie Teresa Perkins (born 7 July 1988) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter. She appeared in 73 One Day Internationals and 55 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between 2012 and 2020. She played domestic cri ...

– cricketer * Karen Plummer – cricketer *

Allison Roe Allison Pamela Roe (née Deed; born 30 May 1956) is a New Zealand politician and former long-distance athlete. Athletics career Roe was born in Auckland in 1956. In 1981, she won both the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon, becoming ...

– athlete *

Rebecca Sowden Rebecca Sowden (born 14 September 1981) is an association football player who represented New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North ...

– association footballer *

Kate Sylvester Kate Sylvester is a New Zealand fashion designer known for combining sportswear, lingerie and traditional tailoring. Her designs are often influenced by books or art, and the fashion of the 1930s and 1950s. "Books are a big thing. When I read the ...

– fashion designer *

Rosita Vai Rosita Vai (born 4 June 1981) is a New Zealand singer who rose to musical fame as the winner of the second season of ''New Zealand Idol'' in 2005. Now married, she is also known as Rosita Gibbons. Prior to her win, Rosita managed to stay out of ...

– singer *

Lisa Wallbutton Lisa Wallbutton (born 14 January 1986 in Henderson, New Zealand) is a basketball player for New Zealand. She won Outstanding Young Player in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and MVP at the 2005 NZ U23 tournament. She debuted for the Tall Ferns (New Z ...

– basketball player *

Diana Wichtel Diana Wichtel (born 1950 in Vancouver) is a New Zealand writer and critic. Her mother, Patricia, was a New Zealander; her father, Benjamin Wichtel, a Polish Jew who escaped from the Nazi train taking his family to the Treblinka extermination cam ...

– writer and critic *

Chelsea Winter Chelsea Winter is a New Zealand celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and r ...

– celebrity chef

References

External links

Westlake Girls High School website
* {{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=autocollapse Educational institutions established in 1958 Girls' schools in New Zealand Secondary schools in Auckland North Shore, New Zealand Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1958 establishments in New Zealand