Avondale College, Auckland
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Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, 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.


Overview

The principal of Avondale College and head of the 180 teachers is Lyndy Watkinson. Watkinson became principal in 2020 after the retirement of Brent Lewis; Lewis became principal in 2001 after the death of Phil Raffills, taking over from acting principal and former deputy principal Warren Peat, who went on to become principal of
Saint Kentigern College Saint Kentigern College is a private co-educational Presbyterian secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. The school is operated by the Saint Kentigern Trust Board. Established in 1953, the college is semi co-educational, with a single-gender ...
. Raffills oversaw the redevelopment of the school buildings after much of the site was destroyed in a fire in 1990. Avondale College students wear a black and white uniform with the school crest on it that has variations depending on year level and gender, which changed from an older black, white and grey one in 2004. The school has adopted NCEA and CIE for assessments and examinations.


History


Early history

The site and buildings of Avondale College started as the U.S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 6, a hospital for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. At that time, the United States was preparing for an extended
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
battle in the South Pacific, and Auckland was chosen as one of a few New Zealand cities for hospitals to tend the wounded army and naval personnel. The facility was designed by
Tibor Donner Tibor Karoly Donner (19 September 1907 – 11 March 1993) was an Austro–Hungarian born New Zealand architect, who was the chief architect for the Auckland City Council from 1947 to 1967. Personal life Donner was born in Szabadka, Austria-Hun ...
(then in the NZ Public Works Department) and built 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 and Brian Perry Civil it makes up the Construction division of Fletcher Building. Fletc ...
. The Department of Education had some of the site planned for a new secondary school to cope with the overcrowding of Auckland secondary schools. The hospital was given first priority, but a small portion of the buildings were built in permanent materials so that the wards, the gymnasium, the hall and some other buildings could be converted into a school at the end of the war. The extent of the hospital was huge, taking up all of the present school site as well as the nearby Rosebank Park and fields. The war in the Pacific did not reach the scale preparations had been made for, and the hospital was not used to care for war casualties. In February 1945 a single school committee was appointed to supervise the use of the hospital as a school, which was originally named "Avondale Technical High School". As New Zealand was still virtually operating under war conditions, supplies and orders for the school were delayed. When it opened, the school was the only high school to operate in West Auckland, until Henderson High School opened in 1953.


Gallery

Avondale College, 1080660.jpg, Avondale College exterior in 1945 Avondale College, Auckland, library, 1948.jpg, Students in the Avondale College library, 1948 Avondale College, Auckland, sports grounds overview, 1947.jpg, An overview of the opening day of the college's sports grounds in 1947 Avondale College, 1080371.jpg, A classroom in Avondale College in 1945


Recent history

Since 1945, the seven principals of Avondale College (L. E. Titheridge, A. R. Stephenson, W. R. Familton, A. H. Burton, P. R. Raffills, B. Lewis, and L. Watkinson) have extended and rebuilt the buildings, redeveloped the site and grounds, created an outdoor education camp (Taurewa) in
Tongariro National Park Tongariro National Park (; ), located in the central North Island, is the oldest national park in New Zealand and the sixth national park established in the world.Department of Conservation"Tongariro National Park: Features", retrieved 21 April ...
, established exchange schools in Japan and Noumea, developed business relationships with the local community, and installed advanced technologies for students and staff. On the evening of 10 April 1990, a major fire at the school destroyed the administration block, assembly hall, gymnasium, and thirteen classrooms. At its peak, 200 firefighters and 26 fire appliances fought the blaze.


Notable events

The school has been used as a location in several films and television commercials. These include the 1979 comedy-drama '' Middle Age Spread'', 1981 horror film '' Dead Kids'', 1995 feature film '' Bonjour Timothy'' (a joint New Zealand–Canadian production),
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
movie ''
Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off ''Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off'' is a 2003 American comedy television film directed by Paul Hoen, written by Dan Berendsen, and starring Taylor Ball, Orlando Brown, Reiley McClendon, Rose McIver, and Mark L. Taylor. It aired on Disney ...
'', and the Te Mana Advertisement. The school swimming pool, used in an advertisement for Lemon & Paeroa in 2006. The school was closed for the day on 24 October 2006, after a fatal stabbing outside its gates on Sunday evening 22 October 2006. Fourteen-year-old Manaola Kaume'afaiva died after being stabbed in the chest. Manaola, a student at the college, was attending a church event. In March 2009, a 17-year-old male exchange student stabbed a teacher in the back while he was teaching a Japanese class. The student was subsequently sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $10,000 in reparation. On 18 August 2021, Avondale College was identified as a location of interest by health authorities following a community outbreak of the
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India on 5 October 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 202 ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand was part of COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zeala ...
.


Buildings

On 9 June 2006, the New Zealand
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
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 ...
visited Avondale College to open the new technical subjects building, the Ferguson Building, that had already been in use through the second half of 2005. It is named after the head of the Chemical and Materials Engineering department at the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
, Professor George Ferguson, who for many years served the college on the board of trustees. The school underwent renovations in 2010–11 which included the building of new science, social science, health, and dance facilities. Former
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
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 from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...
opened the new mathematics and physics buildings, the C- and D-blocks, on 10 August 2011, which was then the biggest school rebuild project in New Zealand history. In March 2014, a new atrium, two new two-story buildings, and new sporting courts were built.


Enrolment

At the October 2014
Education Review Office The Education Review Office (ERO; ) 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 schools and early childhood services. Leader ...
(ERO) review of the school, Avondale College had 2484 students, including 140
international student International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...
s. 52% of students were male and 48% were female. The school is highly multicultural, with at least eleven identifiable ethnic groups – at the ERO review, 21% of students identified as
New Zealand European New Zealanders of European descent are mostly of British and Irish ancestry, with significantly smaller percentages of other European ancestries such as Germans, Poles, French, Dutch, Croats and other South Slavs, Greeks, and Scandinavian ...
(Pākehā), 15% as Samoan, 12% as
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 Co ...
, 11% as Indian, 7% as Chinese, 5% as South East Asian, 4% each as African and Tongan, 3% each as Cook Islands Māori and Niuean, 2% each as Fijian and Middle Eastern, and 11% as another ethnicity. As of , Avondale College has a roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori. As of , the school has an
Equity Index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures the performance of a stock market, or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market perform ...
of , placing it amongst schools whose students have socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 6 and 7 under the former
socio-economic decile In the education in New Zealand, New Zealand education system, decile was a key measure of socioeconomic status used to target funding and support schools. In academic contexts the full term "socioeconomic decile" or "socioeconomic decile band" wa ...
system).


Arts and music

The Premier Concert Band was one of the major music bands of the school, travelling to Sydney in June 2006 to participate in the International Music Festival, where they were awarded a Silver Award. The band has also been awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold at numerous other competitions, such as the KBB Music Festival and the National Concert Band Competition. Also participating in Sydney's International Music Festival competition that year was the college's string group Spiccato. This octet also received a Silver Award. The Music department provides a student-based Show Band for the school's annual show. The music department performs at over 50 events in the school and community each year including strong representation at the KBB Festival, Tauranga Jazz Festival, Stand Up Stand Out competition and Auckland School Jazz Band Competition. Public concerts include the Jazz and Soul Night and the Classical Concert. Avondale College has been named one of the best New Zealand secondary schools in performing School Shows. They each occur annually and is usually a musical. In the past times, the school has performed plays, but ended in the early 2000s all performed at the Avondale College Theatre. Recent shows have included '' Grease'', ''
High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American Musical film, musical television film produced by and aired on Disney Channel as part of the network's List of Disney Channel original films, slate of original television films. The first installmen ...
'', ''
South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
'', ''
Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'', ''
Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...
'', ''
Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...
'', ''
Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...
'', '' Fame'', ''
Footloose ''Footloose'' is a 1984 American musical drama film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Dean Pitchford. It tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town, where he attempts to overturn a b ...
'', ''
Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...
'', ''
Rock of Ages Rock of Ages is an epithet that is used in some translations of Isaiah 26, Isaiah 26:4 and may refer to: Films * Rock of Ages (1918 film), ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * Rock of Ages (2012 film), ''Roc ...
'', ''
Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...
'', ''
In the Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is a romance as well as a celebration of community, culture, and aspirations. It is set over the course of thr ...
'', and ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victo ...
''. Avondale College has participated in the
Rock Eisteddfod Challenge The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, also known as the Australian Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, was an Australian dance and drama challenge for government-funded high schools that was active between 1980 and 2012. Initiated by the Rock Eisteddfod Cha ...
(Stage Challenge) for many years. The school has won first place successfully with two wins in a row within their divisions. Each win in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, they placed second overall. The school has been well awarded on many awards of dance and drama in the competition.


Notable alumni and staff

*
Claire Achmad Claire Indrawati Achmad is a New Zealand lawyer, and is the Chief Children's Commissioner for New Zealand. Early life and education Achmad has a Pākehā mother and a Javanese father. She grew up in the Waitakere Ranges, and was educated at ...
, New Zealand Chief Children's Commissioner * B. J. Anthony – New Zealand basketball player * John Banks – politician, former MP and Mayor of Auckland (also attended Heretaunga College) * Adrian Clarke
All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
rugby player (1958–60) * Emily Drumm – New Zealand cricketer, former captain of the
New Zealand women's national cricket team 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 cricke ...
* Cameron Duncan – film maker * Richard Fromont – All Black rugby player (1993–95) * Maurice Gee – author * Campbell Grayson – New Zealand squash player *
Martin Guptill Martin James Guptill (born 30 September 1986) is a New Zealand cricketer and former international cricketer who played as an opening batsman in all formats of the game but pre-dominantly in limited-overs. Guptill is the first cricketer from New ...
– cricketer, member of
New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...
(2009–present) * Sir Murray Halberg – middle-distance runner, Olympic gold medallist. The
Halberg Awards The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award was han ...
are named in his honour. * Leon Henry – New Zealand basketball player * Debra Jackson – Nurse academic and editor * Reuben Jelleyman – composer * Geoff Maddock – musician and producer of Goldenhorse and Bressa Creeting Cake * Selina Tusitala Marsh -
New Zealand Poet Laureate The New Zealand poet laureate is a poet appointed by the National Library of New Zealand to represent New Zealand's community of poets, to promote and advocate for poetry, and to produce a number of published works during their three-year tenure ...
(2017-2019) *
Rose McIver Frances Rose McIver (born 10 October 1988) is a New Zealand actress. She portrays Samantha Arondekar in the CBS supernatural sitcom ''Ghosts'' (2021–present), Olivia "Liv" Moore in The CW supernatural comedy-drama series '' iZombie'' (2015–2 ...
– actress *
Francis Meli Francis Meli (born 27 April 1979) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative centre or winger, he played in the National Rugby League for New ...
– New Zealand rugby league player * Grace Nweke – New Zealand netball player and
Silver Fern ''Alsophila tricolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori language, Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into Ne ...
*
Ajaz Patel Ajaz Yunus Patel (born 21 October 1988) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for Central Districts in domestic cricket. He emigrated with his family from Mumbai when he was eight years old, and was formerly a left-arm seam bowler. Patel is a sl ...
– New Zealand cricketer, member of
New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...
(2018–present) *
Jeet Raval Jeet Ashok Raval (born 22 September 1988) is a New Zealand cricketer. Raval is an opening batsman, who has played for New Zealand internationally and Northern Districts domestically. Originally from Ahmedabad in India, Raval played cricket for ...
– New Zealand cricketer, member of
New Zealand national cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test cricket, Test in 1930 against England cricket team, England in Christchurch, becoming the f ...
(2016–present) *
Bill Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...
– scientist * Maurice Shadbolt – author * Jamie Smith – hockey player, former captain of the
New Zealand men's national field hockey team The New Zealand men's national field hockey team, also known as the Black Sticks Men, is the national team for men's field hockey of New Zealand, under the New Zealand Hockey Federation. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, they upset Aust ...
. Is now a Senior Manager at Avondale College. *
Lindsay Tait Lindsay Michael Tait (born 8 January 1982) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Early life Tait was born in Sydney, New South Wales. He lived in Australia until he was four years old, when he and his family moved to New Zeala ...
– New Zealand basketball player


References


External links


Public website
* {{Authority control Secondary schools in Auckland Educational institutions established in 1945 1945 establishments in New Zealand Schools in West Auckland, New Zealand Whau Local Board Area