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) ...
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 ...
. As of 2022, the school has a roll of 1067 students and aims to offer every student an equal opportunity to succeed with strong values around responsibility, respect and achievement. Whakatane High School has a 100-year history as a
co-educational
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 ...
public high school, opening in 1920 as ''Whakatane District High School'', becoming a full high school in 1950. The school held its centennial on 2–3 April 2021, postponed from 2020.
History
Whakatane High School is 100 years old, opening in 1920 as ''Whakatane District High School'', becoming a full high school in 1950. In 1973, as the population of Whakatane neared 10000,
Trident High School
Trident High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Whakatāne, New Zealand. The school opened in February 1973 as the town's second secondary school, alongside Whakatane High School. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18), t ...
was opened
Facilities and buildings
The school consists of a field, gymnasium (a separate gymnastics building operated by the local Gymnastics Club lies next to it), school & student office, Careers Centre, the Barclay Hall, a library (named in November 2011 after New Zealand author
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...
, who went to Whakatane High School for a period of time), and numerous buildings split into blocks including: N block (Mainly used for Math, and Computer sciences), T Block (Mainly used for Technology), B Block (Mainly for English, Social Studies and related subjects), A block (Multiple subjects including Languages and Health), C Block (Mainly for art and related subjects) and L Block (Mainly for science and related subjects).
File:WHS NBlock.jpg, The N block
File:WHS LBlock.jpg, The L block
File:WHS TBlock.jpg, The T block
File:WhakataneHighSchool.jpg, The main office viewed from Ghoulstone rd.
Students
As of the 1st of February 2022, the total school roll is 1067 students. 45.64% of the students are
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
/
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
, 48.08% are
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 ...
, 1.12% are
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, 3.09% Identify as
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.94 are classified as
MELAA
In the most recent New Zealand census, in 2018, 70.2 per cent of the population identified as European and 16.5 per cent as Māori. Other major pan-ethnic groups include Asians (15.1 percent) and Pacific peoples (8.1 perc ...
, and 1.12% are registered as Other. There were no International students as of the first of February, 2022.
Houses
Students at Whakatane High School are split into one of four houses. Each house is named after a tree that is native to New Zealand. Students compete in school-related sporting and cultural events to win points for their house. At the end of the year, one house is named champion for that year. The houses are represented by a colour and are listed below:
* Matai
*
Kauri
''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...
*
Totara
''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...
*
Rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps.
The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...
Notable alumni
*
Lisa Carrington
Dame Lisa Marie Carrington (born 23 June 1989) is a flatwater canoeist and New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won a total of five gold medals and one bronze medal. She won three consecutive gold medals in the Women's K1 200metres a ...
, Canoe Sprint World Champion, Olympic gold medalist
* Richard James Conway, New Zealand rugby union player
* Karen Hanlen, Oceania mountain bike champion
* John Vernon Head QSM, Anti-landmines activist
* Toni Jeffs, New Zealand swimmer
*
Jozef Klaassen
Jozef Klaassen (born 5 March 1983 in Thames, New Zealand) is a rower from the Netherlands.
, Member of Nederlands Olympic Eight at 2012 London Games
*
Jaimee Lovett
Jaimee Lovett (born 5 May 1988, in Whakatane) is a New Zealand canoeist.
She represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She competed alongside Caitlin Ryan, Kayla Imrie and Aimee Fisher in the Women's K-4 500 metres event. After ha ...
, New Zealand canoeist
*
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...
, author
*
Benji Marshall
Benjamin Quentin Marshall (born 25 February 1985) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played at or .
He previously played for the Wests Tigers in two separate spells, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Brisbane Bro ...
, rugby league player
*
Noel Mills
Noel Edward Mills (13 January 1944 – 8 December 2004) was a New Zealand rower who won an Olympic silver medal at 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
Mills was born in 1944 in Auckland, New Zealand. He teamed with Dick Tonks, Dudley Stor ...
, former New Zealand rower, Olympic silver medalist
*
Ian Shearer
Ian John Shearer (10 December 1941 – 1 June 2021) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party, environmentalist and research scientist.
Early life and education
Shearer was born at Whakatāne in 1941, the son of Jack Sewell Shearer. ...
, former National MP
*
Brett Sinkinson
Brett David Sinkinson (born 30 December 1971) Scrum.com is a
Nathan Twaddle
Robert Nathan Twaddle (born 21 August 1976) is a former New Zealand rower and Olympic medallist. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the coxless pair rowing with his partner George Bridgewater and won a bronze medal.
The pai ...
, world champion rower and Olympic bronze medalist
*
Wybo Veldman
Gerard Wybo Veldman, known as Wybo Veldman (born 21 October 1946, in Padang, Indonesia, of Dutch parents) is a former New Zealand rower who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He teamed with Dick Joyce, Tony Hurt, ...
, former New Zealand rower, Olympic gold medalist
* Stacey Waaka, New Zealand rugby union player