Kelston Girls’ College (KGC) is a single-sex girls state

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Kelston Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248. ...

, a suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand. It was created in 1963 when the roll of Kelston High School (formed in 1954) became too large for the site on the corner of Archibald and Great North Roads. The boys moved to a new site further down Archibald Road and the original site became the home of Kelston Girls' High School (now Kelston Girls' College).

History

In 1888, New Lynn School, one of the first schools in West Auckland, was opened on the current site of Kelston Girls' College. In 1914, the school was relocated to its modern-day site on Hutchinson Avenue. In 1954 the Kelston High School, a co-educational school, was opened at the site of the old New Lynn School. It was the third high school to open in West Auckland, after

Avondale College Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale. With a roll of students from Years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary school in New Zealand. ...

in 1945, and Henderson High School a year beforehand. Kelston High School was separated into two schools in 1963, with Kelston Girls' High School remaining at the site and

Kelston Boys' High School Kelston Boys' High School ("KBHS") (Te kura tuarua o nga tamatane o kerehana) is an all-boys state secondary school in Kelston, a suburb in the Waitakere region of Auckland, New Zealand. It was created in 1963 when the roll of Kelston High Scho ...

moving to a new campus to the north. In 1993, a

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

was established on the school grounds. In 2004 Kelston Girls' High School Board of Trustees decided to undergo a change of name. Following consultation with the community, the school was renamed Kelston Girls' College. At the time Board chairwoman Rosemary Caldwell commented that the name change would help to attract international students.

Curriculum

Kelston Girls' College is a Te Kotahitanga school. Te Kotahitanga is an education style aimed at raising Māori student achievement. It prescribes that the student is at the centre of learning in the classroom and that culturally responsive relational trust is the focus of all teachers.

Demographics

As of 2014 the school's ethnic composition was as follows: *Māori 16% *NZ European/Pākehā 4% *Samoan 30% *Tongan 11% *Fijian 6% *Middle Eastern 6% *Indian 5% *African 3% *South East Asian 3% *Cook Island Māori 2% *Niue 4% *other Pacific 8% *other 2% Kelston Girls' College receives a number of students who have come to New Zealand as refugees. These students are supported with an orientation programme, regular homework tutorials and career planning.

Hauora centre

Kelston Girls' College has an onsite

Hauora ''Hauora'' is a Māori philosophy of health and well-being unique to New Zealand. It helps schools be educated and prepared for what students are about to face in life. There are four dimensions of hauora: ''taha tinana'' (physical well-being ...

centre. Students have access to a doctor, registered nurse, physiotherapist, guidance counsellors, youth work, social worker and family planning services. The purpose-built centre aims to support students' physical, emotional and mental health.

Notable alumni

*Justice

Debra Mortimer Debra Sue Mortimer is an Australian judge. She was born in New Zealand but has practised law in Australia. She has been a judge of the Federal Court of Australia since 2013, having previously been a Senior Counsel practising at the Victorian Bar ...

, Justice of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

Sport

Brenda Matthews Brenda Patricia Matthews (born 19 February 1949, in Auckland) is a former female track and field sprinter and hurdler from New Zealand. She represented her native country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Munich ( ; german: Münch ...

– athletics, represented NZ at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1996 & 1974 Commonwealth Games *

Monalisa Codling Monalisa Urquhart (née Codling; born 20 April 1977) is a former rugby union player for and Auckland. She previously played for Otago. Codling attended Kelston Girls' College and played for the Black Ferns from 1998 to 2010. The 2010 Rugby Wo ...

– rugby,

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournamen ...

Linda Itunu Linda Itunu (born 21 November 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays for the Black Ferns, New Zealand women's sevens and Auckland. Itunu attended Kelston Girls' College in Auckland. She was a member of three successful Rugby Worl ...

– rugby,

*Aldora Itunu – rugby,

Beverly Weigel Beverly Dawn Edith Weigel (born 16 August 1940), with her first name commonly misspelled as Beverley and since her marriage known as Beverly Robertson, is a New Zealand athlete. Mainly active as a long jumper, but also as a sprinter, she represen ...

– athletics, represented NZ at the 1956 & 1960 Summer Olympics, 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Notable staff

Haidee Tiffen Haidee Maree Tiffen (born 4 September 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricket player. She played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. She appeared in 2 Test matches, 117 One Day Internationals an ...

– cricket,

White Ferns The New Zealand women's national cricket team, nicknamed the White Ferns, represents New Zealand in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of international women's cricket ...

References

External links

* {{Schools in Auckland Secondary schools in Auckland 1963 establishments in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1963 Girls' schools in New Zealand Schools in West Auckland, New Zealand