Rathkeale College

Rathkeale College
Address
Willow Park Drive, Masterton, Wellington Region, New Zealand
Coordinates	40.8993°S 175.6865°E / -40.8993; 175.6865
Information
Type	Single Sex-Boys State Integrated Secondary (Year 9-13)
Motto	Template:Lang-la "Nothing is impossible for mortal man"
Established	1964
Ministry of Education Institution no.	245
Principal	William Kersten
School roll	268
Socio-economic decile	9
Website	www.rathkeale.school.nz

Rathkeale College is a state-integrated Anglican boys secondary school on the outskirts of Masterton, New Zealand.

History

School House, former Rathkeale Homestead

Rathkeale College was established in the 1960s to complete the family of schools managed by the St. Matthew's Schools Trust Board, which already had a girls school in St. Matthews Collegiate and a preparatory school in Hadlow School. The foundation Headmaster was E.J. Norman, a housemaster from Christ's College in Christchurch, while the deputy headmaster was Bruce Hamilton, also of Christ's. The school was established in the homestead of Rathkeale farm, previously owned by the Maunsell family. The Rathkeale homestead is now known as School House. The school was officially opened in 1963 by Governor General Brigadier Sir Bernard Fergusson. The school was officially called St. Matthew's Collegiate School for Boys, but has always been known as Rathkeale College, after the farm on which it was situated. The farm's name comes from Rathkeale in County Limerick, Ireland, where the Maunsell family was originally from.

Current

Governance

Rathkeale is currently owned by the Trinity Schools Trust, managed by the Trinity Schools Trust Board, chaired by John Greenwood, while the school is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Andrew Pottinger.

Staff

Mr William J Kersten is the current Principal, with Mr M Grant Harper as Deputy Principal, Mrs Arlene du Cann as Assistant Principal and Mr Ray Coates as Chaplain.

Houses

Boys are split into three houses to compete in various sporting, cultural and academic competitions. The houses were originally named after old English schools; Rugby House, Cranleigh House, and Repton House. In 2009 these were changed to Halberg, after gold medallist runner Sir Murray Halberg, Hillary, after mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, and Blake, after yachtsman Sir Peter Blake.

Rugby team training

Sport

Both summer and winter sport is compulsory at Rathkeale College, with a wide range of sports offered. The main summer sports are cricket and tennis, while the main winter sports are rugby, hockey and soccer. Rathkeale College has sports exchanges with Scots College, Christ's College, Lindisfarne College, Hutt International Boys' School, Wanganui Collegiate and St. Patrick's College, Silverstream.

A house haka

Culture

Houses compete in a range of cultural competitions, including a House music (choral and band) competition, House haka competition, and in previous years, a House drama competition. The college also offers lessons in many musical instruments, as well as the Viva Camerata choir, combined with St. Matthew's Collegiate, and previously, a barbershop group. Many small drama performances are produced by drama classes or for the Shelia Winn Shakespeare Festival, as well as a major school production being produced every year, which usually alternates between dramas and musicals. Past shows have included King Lear, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Crucible, Footloose, Les Misérables and Twelfth Night.

Special Character

As a State Integrated school, Rathkeale must have a "Special Character" to justify its existence. Rathkeale College's Special Character includes being single-sex, a boarding school, and having compulsory sport participation. However, the main factor is its Anglican religion. Boys attend weekly chapel services, and junior boys take religious education lessons. This special character has recently been enhanced by the purchase of a chapel for the school - St. Martin's on the Close, formerly St. Martin's Church, Mangaweka. The chapel was purchased, moved and restored by the Friends of St. Martin's Trust. Former Board of Trustees chair Robyn Prior received the Bishop's Medal from Bishop of Wellington Tom Brown for her services in attaining and restoring the chapel.