Te Puke 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) ...

located in

Te Puke Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well-known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, and Maketu, whi ...

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 serves students from Year 9 to Year 13, and had a roll of 915 students as of February 2017.

Students

The two largest ethnic groups at the school are New Zealand European, which comprises 45% of students, and Māori, which comprises 37%. The rest of the school comprises 5% Indian, 4% Other European, 3% Kiribati, 2% Other Pacific, 2% South East Asian, 1% Other Asian and 1% Other. 51% of students are female, and 49% are male.

Curriculum

Te Puke High School redesigned the Junior School Curriculum (Years 9 and 10) around 2015–2016, for "21st Century Learning" moving away from the traditional isolated subject classes (e.g. Mathematics or English) and enhanced the Integrated Learning approach. They created "Themes" consisting of five core subjects, English, History/Social Science, Mathematics, Physical Education/Health and Science, in which all five subjects are taught in a cross-curricular approach. They created SPINS (SPecial INterest Subjects) which have been traditionally called "Options" (e.g. Materials, Drama, Visual Arts). The final aspect was Foci. Foci's are where students can enhance a deeper understanding/knowledge into a particular interest of two subjects (e.g. A "Board Gaming" foci can focus on the Mathematical and Social Science sides of "gaming", and interest "gaming" students. Te Puke High School is looking to integrate some of these concepts into the Senior Curriculum over the next few years.

Facilities

In 2013, some redevelopment took place at the school. A main school block was created in a 'V' shape, with several learning pods on each side, the special needs unit at the tip, and a large courtyard in the centre. Each "pod" can have up to three classes operating within it at a time, and science labs are located between the pods. The school

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''whare'' ( ...

was also rebuilt. In early 2017, the Performing Arts/Administration Block went under much needed renovations.

Houses

Te Puke High School consists of five houses/factions: * Blake - Red Named after Sir Peter Blake * Hillary - Yellow Named after Sir

Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached t ...

* Morihana - Purple Named after Sir

Howard Morrison Sir Howard Leslie Morrison (18 August 1935 – 24 September 2009) was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009, he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers. Early life Of Māori (Te Arawa), Irish ...

* Ngata - Green Named after Sir

Āpirana Ngata Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in Parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work ...

* Sheppard - Blue Named after

Kate Sheppard Katherine Wilson Sheppard ( Catherine Wilson Malcolm; 10 March 1848 – 13 July 1934) was the most prominent member of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and the country's most famous suffragist. Born in Liverpool, England, she emig ...

Notable ex-pupils

* Ruia Morrison, tennis player *

References

External links

School Website
{{Western Bay of Plenty District Secondary schools in the Bay of Plenty Region Western Bay of Plenty District