Westlake Boys High School

Westlake Boys High School is a state secondary school for boys located in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and Westlake Boys High School on a new site.[3] Serving Years 9 to 13, the college has 2585 students as of April 2023.[1]

Westlake Boys High School
Location
Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates36°46′36.04″S 174°44′57.98″E
Information
TypeState single-sex boys secondary (Year 9–13)
MottoVirtute Experiamur
Let Courage Be Thy Test
Established1962 (1962)
Ministry of Education Institution no.37
HeadmasterDavid Ferguson
School roll2585[1] (April 2023)
Houses  Hood
  Murchison
  Pupuke
  Smale
  Stanley
  Ururoto
Colour(s)  Green
  Red
Socio-economic decile9Q[2]
Websitewww.westlake.school.nz

Westlake Boys considers itself to follow a 'traditional but progressive' model similar to that in operation at Auckland Grammar School.[4]

Westlake Boys now features recently constructed facilities, including a new administration block, student services centre, and large auditorium capable of holding all of the school's students and staff simultaneously.

Westlake Boys Deputy headmaster David Ferguson took on the role of Headmaster of Westlake Boys High School, taking over from Craig Monaghan, a former Commonwealth Games Judo representative and referee.[5]

Westlake Boys introduced a house system at the end of 2007 where each individual belongs to one of six houses: Pupuke, Ururoto, Hood, Smale, Murchison and Stanley.[6]

View of the school's main entrance

Westlake Boys and Girls

Physically a few hundred metres apart, Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys engage in a joint annual theatrical production, participate in several joint musical ensembles (including a joint choir, two orchestras, a concert band and a jazz band), and some social dances, among other things. The two schools share a motto – "Virtute Experiamur" – "Let Courage Be Thy Test" in Latin.

Academic pathways

Westlake Boys High School uses the National Certificate of Educational Achievement to assess students. Until 2019, it also offered Cambridge Assessment International Education as an option, but this was phased out from 2016.[7][8]

Sporting

Westlake Boys High School has built a tradition of sporting achievement throughout Auckland and New Zealand.[9] The school's teams compete in all Auckland and North Harbour inter-secondary school competitions leading to regional, national and international championships. In 2008/09, Westlake came second in both the Gillette and Maadi Cups in 2009, in both cases, losing to Hamilton Boys'.

Music and performing arts

The teaching of Performing Arts within the school is assisted by the newly constructed auditorium and administration complex. The educational music programme covers performance, composition, analysis, history and aural skills. Along with the option of taking music as a subject, there is also a compulsory Year 9 course, focusing on the appreciation of music and drama in everyday life through theoretical and practical exercises, which runs for multiple weeks throughout the year.[10]

The school has a number of performing groups: a choir ('Voicemale'), a Barbershop Chorus ('Virtutti'), a Concert Band, Stage Band, and Junior Symphonic band. Orchestral groups include the Westlake Symphony, Chamber Orchestra the junior Taharoto Orchestra and the boys' string groups Conchordia and Camerata. The performing groups regularly win awards at the annual KBB Music Festival (formerly the Auckland Secondary Schools Band and Orchestra Festival or 'ASSBOF'). Some groups, such as the Choralation Choir, which won the platinum award at the Big Sing Finale in 2009, 2010, and 2011 are combined with Westlake Girls High School.[11]

The school also holds (mostly annual) drama productions. Recent productions have included Oliver!, Guys & Dolls, School of Rock, Wind in the Willows, Once on Chunuk Bair, Footloose, Romeo and Juliet, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Little Shop of Horrors, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Government Inspector.

View of the school quad

Houses

The houses of Westlake Boys are:[6]

HouseRepresentsColours Named after
HoodAcademia■Maroon John Hood.
Hood is vice-chancellor of Oxford University.
MurchisonLeadershipWhite Peter Murchison.
It is named after Peter Murchison for his 11 years of loyal service in Westlake Boys High School. He has since gone into retirement.
PupukeLandmarkBlue Lake Pupuke.
The school is at the west of Lake Pupuke.
SmaleEnterpriseGreen Bill Smale.
Smale is a successful property developer, and local entrepreneur, and is an owner and director of Smales Farm Technology Office Park Next to Westlake Girls High School.
StanleySportRed Mike Stanley.
Stanley is a two-time rowing world champion in 1982 and 1983. He was also the head rowing coach for the school's rowing squad.
UrurotoCultureBlack A verbatim Māori translation of Westlake.
(uru = west, roto = lake).

Notable alumni
  • Charles R. Alcock – astronomer, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Politics
  • John Watson – Auckland Councillor, former local board member and former Head Boy[12]

The Arts

Business

Journalism

Environment

Basketball

Cricket

Football

Rowing

Rugby League

Rugby union

Sailing

Shooting

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 12 February 2015.
  3. Sparks, Zizi (17 February 2017). "Former Westlake High School students celebrate 60-year reunion". North Shore Times.
  4. "Westlake Boys High School | Virtute Experiamur". Westlake.school.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  6. "House System". Westlake. Westlake Boys High School. 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. "Curriculum Review 2015 | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. Nicoll, Andrew. "Westlake Boys High School 2019 Board of Trustees Annual Report" (PDF). Westlake Boys High School.
  9. Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Arts | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  11. Archived 23 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Meet the Team – John Watson". Putting People First. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  13. "Mike Stanley". Westlake Boys High School. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
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