Rutherford College (formerly named Rutherford High School from 1961 to 2001) is a co-educational state secondary school on the Te Atatū Peninsula,

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. It is named after New Zealand-born nuclear

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both Atomic physics, atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nu ...

History

Rutherford High School opened in 1961, with Eric Clark as the first principal. The school rapidly developed as the farms and orchards of Te Atatū were developed into housing. The school was the first in New Zealand to offer drama and dance as school subjects. Eric Clark was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, and retired as principal the following year.

Enrolment

As of , Rutherford 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 5 and 6 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).

Curriculum

Rutherford College is a

New Zealand Qualifications Authority The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; ) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989. NZQA administers the National Cert ...

accredited

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 ...

Year 9–13 State

Secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. It caters for students from year 9 to year 13, as well as providing adult education, special education and night courses. It offers well-qualified, professional staff are very successful in challenging students to achieve academic success in national assessments. The school teaches core subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science, and helps senior students pass NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement). As well as core subjects, specialist subjects such as Chinese

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

are taught as a second language, as well as

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

, environmental science and

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

, arts,

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

, technology, accounting and economics.

Tradition

The College encourages student participation in a wide range of extracurricular activities, again challenging students to reach their full potential in all areas. * The school celebrates annually, Rutherford Day, to commemorate the history of the school. * The official school song is ‘Me Hui Hui’, written by Pita Sharples * Rutherford Colleges Kapa Haka group 'Te Rōpu Kapa Haka o Te Kōtuku' is also the top Mainstream group in the Auckland region.

Notable staff

* Chris Carter (born 1952), politician * Cliff Edmeades (born 1941), principal (1989–2006) * Jack Elder (born 1949), politician * Dame June Mariu (born 1932), community leader

Notable alumni

Sport

* Ken Carrington – rugby union player, All Black (1971–72) * Ron Cribb – rugby union player, expelled * Robbie Hunter-Paul – rugby league player * Darren Liddel – weightlifter * Kees Meeuws – rugby union player * Henry Paul – rugby union and rugby league player * Garth da Silva – boxer * Gavin Stevens – cyclist * Sam Tuitupou – rugby union player * Ivan Vicelich – association footballer * Peter Webb – cricketer * Yvonne Willering – netball player and coach

The arts

* The La De Da's – 1960s/70s rock band, including

Kevin Borich Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was the mainstay of the La De Da's, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding member of ...

, first formed at Rutherford High *

Oscar Kightley Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley (born 14 September 1969) is a Samoan-New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film '' Sione's Wedding''. Biography Kightley was ...

– TV personality, actor ('' Bro' Town'', '' Sione's Wedding'') * Pio Terei – TV personality, actor and comedian

Public service

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a New Zealand retired politician, broadcaster and lawyer. He served as Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of t ...

– Former Minister of Transport and former National Party leader and MP for

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

. (Also the former Head Boy of the school) *

Dame Cindy Kiro Dame Alcyion Cynthia Kiro () ( Simpson; born 1958) is a New Zealand public-health academic, administrator, and advocate, who has been serving as the 22nd governor-general of New Zealand since 21 October 2021. Kiro is the first Māori woman an ...

– children's commissioner, academic, governor-general * Tim Shadbolt – Mayor of Invercargill, former mayor of Waitemata City (one of the founding students of the school) * Rawiri Waititi – Current Member of Parliament for Waiariki (New Zealand electorate), Co-Leader of

Te Pāti Māori (), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...

Notes

References

Te Kete Ipurangi

External links

Official Rutherford College Website

Official Rutherford College Website: Open Source Section

Rutherford College on Google Maps

Rutherford College YouTube Channel
{{Schools in Auckland Educational institutions established in 1961 Secondary schools in Auckland Henderson-Massey Local Board Area 1961 establishments in New Zealand Schools in West Auckland, New Zealand