Wakatipu High School

Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18). A total of 1339 students attend the school as of April 2023.[1]

Wakatipu High School
Address
47-49 Red Oaks Drive
Frankton
Queenstown 9300
New Zealand
Coordinates45.0257°S 168.7487°E / -45.0257; 168.7487
Information
TypeState Co-Ed Secondary
MottoLatin: Ad Alta
(Reach for your heights.)
Established1937
Ministry of Education Institution no.374
ChairmanCharlie Phillips
PrincipalOded Nathan
Staff142
Grades9–13
School roll1339 (April 2023)[1]
Capacity1800
Houses  Arthur
  Duncan
  Fox
  Hay
  Mackenzie
Socio-economic decile10Z[2]
Websitewww.wakatipu.school.nz
Wakatipu High School, at the former Fryer Street site, in 1980.
Students performing a Cultural Event in Wakatipu High School.

The school was originally located at 68 Fryer Street in central Queenstown. It was relocated to a new site at 47/49 Red Oaks Drive, Frankton during the 2017/18 summer holidays.[3] Development of the new Wakatipu High School cost approximately $50 million and took place over the course of 2017.[4] The school was developed with a controversial open plan design with the intention of encouraging constructive communication between students.[5][6] Further development of the school was undertaken in 2020,[7] with an extension of the school being completed in mid-2022 and a second gymnasium being completed at the start of 2023.[8]

Curriculum

Wakatipu High School uses National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) based assessments; the “credits” earned from these exams go towards a student’s NCEA qualification. Students can gain points through their "Ākonga Passport" [9] which recognises students for exemplifying the school's values. They can gain points to achieve bronze, silver and gold levels of the Passport.

Houses

Wakatipu High School uses a house system with different colours: Arthur House (blue), Duncan House (black), Fox House (red), Hay House (green), and Mackenzie House (orange). Within these houses are a dean and student leaders.[10] The houses are named after historical figures from the region.

Notable alumni

Controversies
  • On 8 February 2019, twenty-one students were stood down for consuming alcohol and other illicit substances, as well as vaping on school grounds during a sporting event.[16]
  • For the School Strike for Climate on 15 March 2019, students from the school who attended the march and were not part of the environmental group were marked either "Explained but unjustified" or "Truant" on the school roll.[17]
  • During a 12-day camp for Year 10 students in 2020, several students were faced with disciplinary action following a prank in which the students ejaculated, urinated and sprinkled their pubic hair over a fellow student's sleeping bag and pillow.[18]

References
  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. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  3. "School gets set for the big move". 18 November 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  4. Williams, Guy (2019-02-09). "School extension likely next year". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  5. "Queenstown's new Wakatipu High School weeks away from finish". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  6. Lippman, Peter C.; Byers, Terry. "Classroom design should follow evidence, not architectural fads". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  7. Chandler, Philip (2019-06-13). "Massive high school expansion approved". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  8. Roxburgh, Tracey (2023-02-06). "New school, WHS campus possibilities: head". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  9. "Curriculum and Timetable". WHS. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  10. "House Competition". WHS. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  11. Roxburgh, Tracey (2021-03-04). "Our Cool's a golden girl - Mountain Scene". www.scene.co.nz. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  12. "Class Act: Where are they now?". Otago Daily Times Online News. 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  13. "Alice Robinson". New Zealand Olympic Team. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  14. "Alpine ski racer Alice Robinson reflects on her first Olympics and looks to 2022". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  15. Hudson, Daisy (2018-09-06). "TV presenter over the moon at Pride Week homecoming". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  16. "Twenty Queenstown students stood down after drinking at school athletics day". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  17. Taylor, Paul (2019-03-14). "Parting Shot: Bit beyond 'raising awareness'". Mountain Scene. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  18. Chandler, Philip (2020-12-11). "Students' disgusting actions". Mountain Scene. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wakatipu High School.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.