St Cuthbert's College is a private (independent)

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

-based day and boarding school for girls aged 4 to 18 (Years 0 to 13), located in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand. The school was established in 1915 and has a roll of approximately 1300 students and is widely regarded as one of the best academically performing

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

s in New Zealand. In 2015, Metro Magazine stated that "the top academic results in Auckland, every year, are scored by St Cuthbert’s College" and the school has been awarded the title of Metro Magazine's Highest-Ranked Auckland Secondary School for Academic Achievement in 2013, 2014 (when the equivalent of 53 per cent of the Year 13 roll gained scholarships), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The school is affiliated with the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), the New Zealand Boarding Schools' Association (NZBSA), Independent Schools of New Zealand (ISNZ), and is an overseas member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA). The school offers both the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

diplomas and the national NCEA qualification.

History

The college was established as the Auckland Presbyterian College for Ladies Ltd in 1915, when a group of Presbyterian elders purchased Mt Eden Collegiate, a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

for girls, and appointed Miss Isobel Macdonald as the school's first principal. Miss Macdonald chose the motto, "By Love, Serve", and renamed the school St Cuthbert's College as the Trust Board suggested that a shorter and more distinctive name was required. The school is named after the

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n monk-bishop

Saint Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of ...

and, since 1918, it has celebrated St Cuthbert's Day annually in March. In 1925, the college moved to its present site in Epsom. In 1932, three school

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

were established,

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

, Elgin and Melrose, each named after places of significance in the life of St Cuthbert. In 1936, the winter

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

was changed to

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

tartan, after the then principal, Lavinia Clouston, had seen the uniform at the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (PLC Sydney) is an independent school, independent Presbyterian Church of Australia, Presbyterian Single-sex school, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary sc ...

. Black Watch tartan also has been the summer uniform since 1966.

School motto

The St Cuthbert's College

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

is "By Love, Serve". The motto was chosen to encourage students to share, respect the needs of others, accept different viewpoints and to live peacefully. The school verse comes from

1 Corinthians 13 1 Corinthians 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. This chapter covers the subject of Love. In the orig ...

chapters 1–13 and is consistent with "By Love, Serve", and students are constantly reminded to be "By Love, Serve".

Boarding

St Cuthbert's College accepts both day students and boarding students. Boarding students from Years 7 to 13 live in one of St. Cuthbert's three boarding houses: Dunblane, Elgin or Melrose. The boarding community at St Cuthbert's College is very diverse. Boarders come from

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, the Pacific Islands and a range of other overseas locations, as well as from both urban and rural New Zealand. An increasing number of boarders are local students living between Karaka and the North Shore.

Curriculum

Academic

The college offers both the NCEA and the IB qualifications. In 1999 a Thinking Skills programme was introduced based on Art Costa's

Habits of Mind A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. Senior management credit this programme for the college's continuing ranking as one of New Zealand's top schools.

Physical education

Physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

is compulsory for all students from Years 1 to 11. Students are also given the opportunity to pitch themselves against other top athletes in local, regional and national tournaments as part of the college's Athlete Pathway Programme. Over 90 per cent of senior students participate in extra-curricular sporting activities.

Kahunui

In Year 10, the students take part in a four-week experience at Kahunui, a large outdoor living space in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

bush, where the girls participate in physical activities as well as academic work that is taught by practical applications (e.g. maths is covered in budgeting and English through creative writing journal entries). During their time at Kahunui, the girls are divided into groups of eight students and they are expected to live in and manage their own residence. The outdoor programme includes overnight sea kayaking and tramping trips.

Headmistresses/Principal

* Isobel MacDonald 1915-1921 * Lavinia Clouston 1921-1948 * Violet Wood 1949-1968 * O.J. Holland 1969-1989 * Frances J. Compton 1989-1995 * Lynda J. Reid 1996-2016 * Roz Mexted 2017 * Justine Mahon 2018–present

Notable alumnae

Alumnae Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

of St Cuthbert's College are commonly referred to as Old Girls, and may elect to join the school's alumnae association, the Old Girls' Association. Some notable St Cuthbert's Old Girls include: * Bianca Babarich-Bacher – Joint winner, New Zealand Young Sailor of the year, Women's

420 420 may refer to: * 420 (number) *420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20 ** California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act *AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar * ...

sailing

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and Halberg finalist. * Alexandra Brewis Slade – anthropologist/social scientist. *

Christine Fletcher Christine Elizabeth Fletcher (née Lees, born 25 January 1955) is a New Zealand politician. Currently an Auckland Council councillor, she was previously a National Party Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1999, and served one term as Mayor of A ...

– former Member of Parliament for

and

Mayor of Auckland The Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland Region in New Zealand, which it controls as a unitary authority. The position exists since October 2010 after the amal ...

* Philippa Gower – World Record holder and Olympic backstroker in the 1950s *

Julia King Julia Elizabeth King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge (born 11 July 1954) is a British engineer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords, where she chairs the Select Committee on Science and Technology. She is the incumbent chair of the Car ...

– field hockey player, member of Black Sticks Women (2011–) *

Roseanne Liang Roseanne Liang is a New Zealand film director. Her first feature film, '' My Wedding and Other Secrets'', was the first theatrically released feature film made by a Chinese New Zealander and became 2011's highest grossing local feature film. She ...

– film director * Vicki Lin – presenter on Studio 2 * Katherine Faith (Willow) Macky – one of New Zealand's leading composers of folk-style music and songs (also attended

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

) *

Stacey Michelsen Stacey Michelsen (born 18 February 1991) is a New Zealand field hockey player. She has competed for the New Zealand women's national field hockey team (the ''Black Sticks Women''), including for the team at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth G ...

– field hockey player, member of Black Sticks Women (2009–) (also attended

Kamo High School Kamo is a suburb in Northern Whangārei. approximately five minutes drive from the Whangārei CBD. The name comes from a Māori word meaning "eyelash", but has also been said to mean "to bubble up", referring to hot springs in the area. Mount Pa ...

) * Kim Noakes – New Zealand Black Sticks * Dr Margaret Orbell - author, editor and academic * Suji Park – Korean-New Zealand artist *

Polly Powrie Olivia Elizabeth "Polly" Powrie (born 9 December 1987) is a New Zealand sailor. She has won Olympic and world championship titles in the 470 class, and is also a former 420 world champion. Biography Powrie and her sailing partner Jo Aleh, w ...

– sailor, Olympic gold medallist (2012 London) * Lucy Talbot – field hockey player, member of Black Sticks Women (2009–) * Rose Carlyle – author * Renee Liang - paediatrician, poet, essayist, short story writer, playwright, librettist, theatre producer and medical researcher * Pamela Allen – author and winner of the Margaret Mahy Medal for children's literature * Ann Gluckman - author, travel writer, and copresident of the Auckland Council for Christians and Jews * Katie Doar - New Zealand field hockey player, member of Black Sticks Women- 2019 * Madison Doar - New Zealand field hockey player, member of Black Sticks Women- 2017 * Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick - New Zealand Netball player, member of the Silver Ferns 2011, 2018 - present

Cultural references

In the ''

bro'Town ''bro'Town'' is a New Zealand adult animated comedy television series and sitcom that ran from 2004 to 2009. It starred David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley. Overview The main characters in the series are five 14 yea ...

'' première episode "The Weakest Link" (2004), one of the schools competing in the high school quiz challenge is named "Saint Cuthersan's College", a combination of both St Cuthbert's and the nearby Diocesan School for Girls.

References

External links

St Cuthbert's College Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Cuthbert's College, Auckland Boarding schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1915 Girls' schools in New Zealand Presbyterian schools in New Zealand Primary schools in Auckland Secondary schools in Auckland Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1915 establishments in New Zealand