Onehunga High School is a state co-educational

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) ...

in the

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 ...

suburb of

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

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. The school incorporates a business school, founded by Just Water International's creator

Tony Falkenstein Anthony Joseph Falkenstein (February 16, 1915 – October 10, 1994) was an American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). Biography Falkenstein was born on February 16, 1915, in Pueblo, Colorado. He played at the college foot ...

, which is sponsored by brewery company

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and a construction school sponsored by

Fletcher Construction The Fletcher Construction Company Limited is a New Zealand construction company and a subsidiary of Fletcher Building. Together with Higgins Contractors Ltd it makes up the Construction division of Fletcher Building. Fletcher Construction is wid ...

, making it unique among New Zealand secondary schools. The school attracts students from the suburbs of Onehunga, Māngere Bridge, Hillsborough, and

Royal Oak The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...

and accepts a limited number of students from outside its zone.

History

Onehunga High School was "founded" in 1959 by Mr J. C. McCarthy on its Pleasant Street site. At its birth the roll was 190 students but it has grown slowly to a peak of over 1,500.Onehunga High School. (2010). ''History''. Retrieved from http://www.onehungahigh.school.nz/our-school/history/ McCarthy was principal from the foundation until his retirement 19 years later.

is situated in one of Auckland's suburbs' overlooking the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

. Many Onehunga High School families have long histories in the area and a large number of the students are second or even third generation students. The school's proximity to Onehunga and Penrose's industrial and retail area has allowed links with some service clubs and businesses including scholarships and trust funds. In the early days the school was a mono-cultural in character, but during the 1980s it began to develop into a truly multi-cultural school, with increasing numbers of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

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n and

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students. Today the school is strongly international and enjoys all the qualities a wide range of cultures bring. In the 1980s as part of a wider decentralisation changes in the New Zealand education system, school was allowed self-governance under a board of trustees system. From 2000, the school began a modernisation and development programme. The school has always received students from Onehunga,

, Hillsborough and Māngere Bridge but in recent times enrolments beyond this zone have increased. Currently approximately 50% of Onehunga High School come from out of zone areas as the school's reputation has attracted many new students.

Academics

According to the 2009

Education Review Office The Education Review Office (ERO) (Māori: ''Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with reviewing and publicly reporting on the quality of education and care of students in all New Zealand school ...

report, the overall NCEA Level 1 results showed "consistent improvement over the past three years. Since the school's involvement in the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

numeracy project in 2006" and "achievement in Level 1 numeracy has also shown steady improvement". Other results cited in the report by the school for 2008 include the highest success rates for the school since the inception of NCEA in meeting literacy and numeracy requirements at Level 1 and its best NCEA Levels 1 and 2 results. Noted also was the significant improvement in Level 2 NCEA results, which exceed decile averages and merit and excellence endorsements at Levels 2 and 3, which met or were above national averages. Nine NZQA scholarships were achieved in a range of subjects.

Academic divisions

In addition to the normal academic departments by learning areas, Onehunga High School has the following internal divisions at the Pleasant St campus: *The Business School *The Construction School *The Services Academy

Onehunga High Business School

The Business school, founded in 2002 has attracted significant amounts of media publicity in particular, and visits from many notable people including the Rt Hon

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

(

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

at the time) and Rt Hon

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...

(

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

). The Business School is aimed at better recognition for business standards into the National Curriculum.

Onehunga High Construction School

The Building and Construction School is a vocational division which provides opportunities for students to explore their interests in this trade.

Onehunga High Services Academy

The Services Academy is a unit focusing on preparing students who are looking for a future career in the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

Principals

* Con McCarthy 1959-1978 * Ken Prebble 1978-1990 * Chris Saunders 1990-2007 * Deidre Shea 2007–present

Student life

Music And Performing Arts

Students are encouraged to participate in performing arts activities. The school has several performing arts groups which perform regularly at school and community functions. All "Year 9" students are offered instrumental (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

) or voice tuition. Talent shows are held regularly which provide an opportunity for young performers to display their talents. "Stage Challenge" involves up to 150 students in a student directed and choreographed dance and drama spectacular. Each year, until 2009, one Onehunga High School student wins a scholarship (provided by Tony Falkenstein) to attend the Cazadero Performing Arts Camp in California, US. In 2010, the scholarship was altered and now it sends two OHS students to Geelong Music Camp in Australia. "Bring It On" involves up to 100 students in a student choreographed hip hop-based dance. Onehunga High School placed 1st in the 2010 Bring It On Grand Final and 2nd in 2009.

OHS Sports

Onehunga High School offers a wide range of sports and has had success during their school history. Their Premier Boys Basketball team and 1st XV Boys Rugby Team are currently competing in Auckland's Premier Grades Respectively. They have collected many Auckland Titles through their sports teams and have also won National honors in Softball (2002) and most recently have become the 2012 1st XV Co-ed national champions stating their place as the best Co-Ed rugby school in NZ.

Robotics

Onehunga High School recently adopted Vex robotics as an extra curricular program, enabling students to spend lunchtimes and weekends to design, build and program their own robots. The school's teams have been extremely successful, winning 7 out of 9 competitions up until the New Zealand National competition. At the New Zealand Nationals, the senior team won the team Excellence Award, enabling the team to fly to Dallas, Texas and compete in the Vex Robotics World Championships. 2012 Has seen Onehunga High School become world champions at the Vex Robotics Championships. The championship held this year in Los Angeles – involved more than 10,000 intermediate, high school and university students, teachers and mentors from 20 countries who competed and won at regional and national contests to qualify for the world championships. Onehunga as well as winning overall also took the top prize as Engineering Division Champions.

Notable alumni

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequentl ...

- Actor * Kahn Fotuali'i - Rugby (Tasman, Canterbury Crusader, Samoan International) *

Clayton Friend Clayton Ivan Friend (born 1964) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, and at club level for Carlisle (two spells), North Sydney Bears a ...

- Rugby League - Kiwi International, NRL - (North Sydney Bears) *

Shea Ili Shea Ili (born 6 October 1992) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). Ili was raised in Māngere Bridge, playing his basketball at Onehunga High School and appearing for Co ...

- Basketball (New Zealand Breakers) *

Stacey Ili Stacey Ili (born 11 May 1991 in New Zealand) is a Samoan rugby union player, who currently plays as a midfield back for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition and for the in Super Rugby. Early life Ili was a ...

- Rugby (Auckland, Connacht) * Bubba Lau'ese - Rugby & Basketball (Samoa Rugby & Southland Sharks) * Andrew Makalio - Rugby (Tasman, Crusaders) *

Sililo Martens Sililo Victor Martens (born 27 April 1977 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former Tongan international rugby union player. Career Martens was born in Auckland, New Zealand to a Tongan mother and Australian father. He spent most of his early childho ...

- Rugby (Nz School Boys, Tongan International) *

Bailey Mes Bailey Mes (born 27 May 1989) is an Auckland born New Zealand netball player. She can play at goal shoot, goal attack, and wing attack. She has played for the Mainland Tactix in the ANZ Championships since 2015. In 2012, she was selected into ...

- Netball (Northern Mystics & Silver Fern) *

Taniela Moa Taniela Moa (11 March 1985 – 16 December 2021) was a Tongan rugby union player. He last played for Section Paloise. He also played for the Blues and Chiefs in Super Rugby, and Auckland and Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moa ...

- Rugby (Auckland Blues, Waikato Chief and Tongan International) *

Isa Nacewa Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a former rugby union player and coach. Born in New Zealand of Fijian descent, he represented the Fiji national team, winning one cap in 2003. Nacewa was a utility back who played for the Blues in t ...

- Rugby (Auckland Blues & Fijian International) *

Ramesh Patel Ramesh Unka Patel (born 12 September 1953) is a former field hockey player from New Zealand, who was a member of the national team that won the golden medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In the 1988 New Year Honours, Patel was awar ...

- NZ Hockey player & Gold Medalist at 1976 Montreal Olympic games * Junior Pelesasa - Rugby (Australian School Boys, Queensland Reds, Australian International) *

James Pickering Sir James Pickering (died c. 1398) was Speaker of the House of Commons of England in 1378 (which met in Gloucester) and again from 1382 to 1383. The protestation which, as Speaker, he made for freedom of speech, and declaring the loyalty of t ...

- Rugby League - NRL(Canterbury Bulldogs, Sydney Roosters, Fiji International) *

Madeleine Sami Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, wrote, and starred in ''Super City''. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starr ...

- Actor, Comedian & Singer * Taleni Seu - Rugby (Auckland, Chiefs) *

Jimmy Thunder Ti'a James Senio Peau (3 February 1966 – 13 February 2020), known professionally as Jimmy Thunder, was a Samoan-born New Zealand professional boxer who held the IBO heavyweight title from 1994 to 1995. He held multiple regional heavyweight ti ...

- Boxer (IBO, OPBF, WBC, IBF, Pan Pacific, Australian & WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Titles) * Munokoa Tunupopo, Cricket (Auckland and New Zealand) * Samiu Vahafolau - Rugby (Nz U19 & 21 player of the year, Otago Highlander, Tongan International) * Sue Wood - Politician (First woman president of the National Party from 1982 to 1986) ; Groups *

Purest Form Purest Form were a New Zealand vocal harmony group. They are best known for their television commercial for the Rainbow's End amusement park and for their 1994 cover of Split Enz's song "Message to My Girl". Purest Form were the first all- Polyn ...

- R&B Singing Group (Rainbows End Theme Song) *

SWIDT SWIDT ( ); See What I Did There?) are a hip-hop collective from Onehunga, New Zealand. SmokeyGotBeatz debut project ''SWIDT vs Everybody'' was listed as No.16 in The New Zealand Herald's ''20 Best Albums of 2016.'' They released their official ...

- Rap Group

References

External links

Onehunga High School
{{Schools in Auckland Educational institutions established in 1959 Secondary schools in Auckland 1959 establishments in New Zealand