Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga

The Free Wesleyan Church (Siasi Uesiliana Tau‘ataina ‘o Tonga in Tongan) is the largest Methodist denomination in Tonga. The royal family of the country are prominent members, and the late king was a lay preacher.

It was founded as the Free Church of Tonga in 1885, when King George Tupou I decided that a sovereign nation, in the process of promoting its sovereignty abroad by means of bilateral treaties with Western nations, should have an independent (Wesleyan) Church. Preachers in the FWC system must be ordained ministers, a process that takes between 3 and 5 years, and can involve many stages of approval and apprenticeship. However, ministers are not required to attend theological seminary, because often doing so in the past created a teacher shortage in the church schools while the candidates were atteding seminary.

Schools

The Free Wesleyan Church (FWC) also runs 30% of the schools in Tonga, and are generally considered the best out of the church-run schools. Many parents choose to send their children to the FWC schools for moral education; to teach them obedience, hard work, good manners, and respect, which are all high values in Tonga. As in other schools, FWC schools usually do not have class on Fridays, but instead use the day for school cleanup; all school facilities in Tonga are maintained by the students. School uniforms are the church's colors: royal blue and white.

Tongatapu

Primary Schools

• Akoteu Nukuʻalofa.
• Akoteu Nukunuku
• Akoteu Kolovai
• Akoteu Vaotuʻu
• Akoteu ʻUtulau
• Maamaloa Bilingual Side School

School	No. of Teachers	No. of Students
Akoteu Nuku'alofa	13	305
Akoteu Nukunuku	6	94
Akoteu Kolovai	6	78
Akoteu Vaotu'u	4	69
Akoteu 'Utulau	6	102
Maamaloa Bilingual Side School	11	200
TOTAL	35	848

Secondary Schools

• Tupou College Toloa
• Queen Salote College
• Tupou High School- Vaololoa, Nukunuku and Tapunisiliva
• Moʻungaʻolive College- Kolonga
• FWC Middle Schools- Pea, Vaini, and Houma

School	Teachers	Other staff	Students
Tupou College Toloa	45	33	857
Queen Salote College	72	9	1016
Tupou High School Vaololoa Branch	50	7	645
Tupou High School Nukunuku Branch	9	2	107
Tupou High School Tapunisiliva Branch	11	2	76
Mo'unga'olive College	9	3	74
FWC Middle School Pea Branch	4	0	38
FWC Middle School Vaini Branch	2	0	12
FWC Middle School Houma Branch	3	0	21
TOTAL	205	56	2846

Tertiary Institutions

• Siaʻatoutai Theological College
• Tupou Tertiary Institute- Fasi

School	Teachers	Other staff	Students
Sia'atoutai Theological College	20	53	231
Tupou Tertiary Institute	19	8	425
TOTAL	39	61	656

Vavaʻu

Primary Schools

• Akoteu Neiafu

School	Teachers	Students
Sau Faupula Bilingual Side School	3	31
Akoteu Neiafu	2	32
TOTAL	5	63

Secondary Schools

• Mailefihi Siuʻilikutapu College

School	Teachers	Other Workers	Students
Mailefihi Siu'ilikutapu College	39	7	380

Haʻapai

Primary Schools

• Akoteu Petani
• Akoteu Nomuka

School	Teachers	Students
Akoteu Petani	5	68
Akoteu Nomuka	3	21
TOTAL	8	89

Secondary Schools

• Taufaʻahau Pilolevu College
• Tupoutoʻa College- Nomuka

School	Teachers	Other Staff	Students
Taufa'ahau Pilolevu College	17	5	127
Tupouto'a College	5	1	33
TOTAL	22	6	160

ʻEua

Secondary Schools

• Hofangahau College

School	Teachers	Other staff	Students
Hofangahau College	14	3	105

Tertiary Institutions

• Hango School of Agriculture

School	Teachers	Other staff	Students
Hango School of Agriculture	7	13	37

FWC Kindergartens in Tonga

The Church has 10 Pre-Schools in Tongatapu, 2 in ʻEua, 2 in Haʻapai, 2 in Vavaʻu and 1 in the Niuas. There are 460 children and 30 teachers in total for all FWC Kindergartens in Tonga.

External links

• Free Wesleyan Church Website
• www.tct.to
• www.tti.to