Freyberg High School

Freyberg High School (Māori: Te Kura o Te Pou Hōia) is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Roslyn in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Freyberg High School
Te Kura o Te Pou Hōia
Address
Freyberg Street

Palmerston North
,
Manawatū-Whanganui
,
4414
Coordinates40.3380°S 175.6275°E / -40.3380; 175.6275
Information
School typeState co-educational
MottoVirtute et Honore
Established1955
Ministry of Education Institution no.200
PrincipalGraeme Williams
Years taught9-13
School roll1113[1] (April 2023)
Colour(s)█ Blue
█ Gold
MascotSalamander
Socio-economic decile5M[2]
Websitewww.freyberg.ac.nz

Freyberg High School is named for hero of both world wars, Lord Bernard Freyberg,[3] who is known for his service in the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War and later service commanding the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Second World War. Freyberg served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Opening in 1955 as the city's fourth state secondary school, Freyberg High School is now one of the largest schools in Palmerston North, with a roll of 1113 students as of April 2023[1], behind Palmerston North Boys' High School and Palmerston North Girls' High School.

Main entrance to Freyberg High School

The school is located at the end of Freyberg Street, Palmerston North and is bordered by Skoglund Park on the east and Ross Intermediate School on the west. To the north are the netball courts of Vautier Park. Also present is the Freyberg Community Pool, which is open to the public for leisure.

History

The school was founded in 1955 and named for World War II hero and former Governor General, Bernard Freyberg. His name is reflected not only in the name of the school, but also of the school's gymnasium, Lord Freyberg Memorial Gymnasium. In addition, the school's mascot is the salamander, which was Freyberg's nom de guerre during the First World War. The school's yearbook, the Salamander, also adopts this name. The name given to him by Māori, Te Pou Hōia, is also reflected in the Māori name for the school.

Like most New Zealand state secondary schools built in the mid-1950s, Freyberg High School is of Henderson-type construction, with long single-storey classrooms blocks of timber construction interconnected by a central spine. Additional classroom facilities have been built over the years to aid in the growing student numbers.

In 1993, Russell Trethewey took on the post of Principal. By his retirement and replacement by Michael McMenamin in 2004, the school roll had reached over 1200. At the end of 2008, McMenamin returned to New Plymouth Boys' High School after five years at Freyberg High School. He was replaced as Principal by long-serving Deputy Principal Peter Brooks.

In 2005, the school celebrated its 50th Jubilee and in 2015, celebrated its 60th Jubilee.

In October 2022, Brooks retired as Principal after more than a decade in the role. He was replaced by Whangaparaoa College deputy principal Graeme Williams.

Sports

Rivalries

Freyberg High School conducts annual sports exchanges with Taradale High School and Kāpiti College. The junior school also participates in a Central Six competition. There is also a rivalry between Freyberg and Awatapu College for the Mark Ranby Trophy in rugby union.

Arts

Dance

Freyberg High School regularly competes in the Dance NZmade interschool competition in both regional and national levels, winning the regional final in 2018 and again reaching the national finals in 2019.[4][5][6]

Music

Freyberg High School is renowned for its musical groups, with many reaching regional and national finals in choral and orchestral competitions. Choral group Bella and the Fellas has won regional awards at the Manawatū-Whanganui Big Sing every year since 2017.[7][8][9] Female barbershop choir Miss Demeanor has also had national acclaim, reaching the Barbershop Harmony National Finals in 2019.

School structure

Class structure

Freyberg High School works along the vertical structure with whānau groups which includes Year 9 through to Year 13 along house lines. The teacher of the whānau group is in the same house as his or her students.

Prior to 2002, there were horizontally structured tutor groups in which there was only one year level per group. Likewise, these groups were based on houses, with all students being in the same house. Before 2001, there was a mixture of houses within one tutor group.

In 2016, coaching classes were introduced to support students for the whole five years they attend the school. Students are taught beneficial skills such as time management, planning goals, career paths and study advice. The classes are sorted into individual year levels with one 'coach' who monitors the students throughout their journey from Year 9 to Year 13. It is held almost every week and replaces the whānau group time slot on Wednesdays.

House system

For the purposes of school structure and intraschool competition, Freyberg High School is divided into four houses of roughly equal size. All students belong to one of the houses. Each house has a name relevant to the region and has reference to Te Rauparaha; the names are as follows:

House Names & their Colours
KapitiNamed for Kapiti Island.
ManawatuNamed for the Manawatū River.
RuahineNamed for the Ruahine Ranges.
TararuaNamed for the Tararua Ranges.

Facilities of the School

Freyberg High School offers a range of facilities for its students.Freyberg High School

  • Sports Academy
  • Music Academy
  • Dance Academy
  • Drama Academy
  • Musical Theatre Academy
  • Russell Trethewey Performing Arts Centre
  • Craig Centre - Special Education block
  • Deaf Education Unit
  • Teen Parents' Unit
  • Rumaki - Māori Immersion Classes
  • Covered Heated Swimming Pool (Freyberg Community Pool)

Notable staff

Notable staff, past and present include:

Notable alumni

Politics
  • Jacqui Dean – former television and radio host, now National MP for Otago (2005–2008) and Waitaki (2008-)[14]
  • Darien Fenton – Labour List MP (2005-2014)[15]
  • Steve Maharey – former Labour MP for Palmerston North (1990–2008), Vice-Chancellor of Massey University, Palmerston North (2009-2017)[16]

Sport

Entertainment

Notes
  1. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  2. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. "Freyberg High School - About us". www.freyberg.ac.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  4. "Freyberg High School - Dance". www.freyberg.ac.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  5. "Freyberg High School students dance their way to win". Stuff. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  6. "Dance NZmade Interschool Dance Competition Programme - National Teams Programme" (PDF). Dance NZmade. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  7. "Manawatu-Whanganui TBS results". New Zealand Choral Federation Inc. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  8. "Winter Festival large scrum ready to draw the crowds". Stuff. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  9. "Manawatu/Whanganui The Big Sing Awards 2018". New Zealand Choral Federation Inc. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  10. "Palmerston North to the West End - Blood Brothers star Delia Hannah". NZ Herald. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. "New-look Globe has award-winner role". 5 June 2014.
  12. "New mayor offers district heart and soul". 13 March 2012.
  13. "Utikere, Tangi - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  14. "Dean, Jacqui - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  15. "Fenton, Darien - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  16. "Maharey, Steve - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  17. Rugby: Women’s sevens squad named
  18. Black Ferns name fresh tour squad 3news.co.nz
  19. Matthews, Chris (1990). "David D'Ath remembered". Rip It Up.
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