Westlake Boys High School
| Westlake Boys High School Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 36°46′36.04″S 174°44′57.98″E / 36.7766778°S 174.7494389°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State single-sex boys secondary (Year 9–13) |
| Motto | Virtute Experiamur Let Courage Be Thy Test |
| Established | 1962 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 37 |
| Headmaster | David Ferguson |
| School roll | 2698[1] (August 2024) |
| Houses | Hood Murchison Pupuke Smale Stanley Ururoto |
| Colour(s) | Green Red |
| Socio-economic decile | 9Q[2] |
| Website | www |
Westlake Boys High School (Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto)[3] is a state secondary school for boys 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.[4] Serving Years 9 to 13, the college has 2698 students as of August 2024.[1]
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 and Girls
[edit]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
[edit]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.[6][7]
Sporting
[edit]The school's teams compete in all Auckland and North Harbour inter-secondary school competitions leading to regional, national and international championships.[8] In 2008/09, Westlake came second in both the Gillette and Maadi Cups in 2009, in both cases, losing to Hamilton Boys'. [citation needed]
Music and performing arts
[edit]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.[9]
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 have won 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.[10]
Notable alumni
[edit]The Arts
[edit]- David Griffiths (composer)
- Martin Henderson – film, TV and theatre actor
- Don McGlashan – musician, The Mutton Birds and Blam Blam Blam
- Tim Mahon and Mark Bell – founding members of Blam Blam Blam
- Alex Taylor – composer, poet and writer
Business
[edit]- A. J. Hackett – popularised bungee jumping
- John Hood – Rhodes Scholar, former CEO of Fletcher Challenge, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland and of Oxford University
Environment
[edit]Journalism
[edit]- Duncan Garner – television journalist
Politics
[edit]- John Watson – Auckland Councillor, former local board member and former Head Boy[11]
Science
[edit]- Charles R. Alcock – astronomer, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Sport
[edit]Basketball
[edit]- Thomas Abercrombie
- Jarrod Kenny
- Robert Loe
- Kirk Penney
- Jack Salt
- Corey Webster
- Tai Webster
- Yanni Wetzell
Cricket
[edit]- Andre Adams – former Black Cap
- Billy Bowden – ICC cricket umpire
- Paul Hitchcock – former Black Cap
- Bevon Jacobs – New Zealand cricketer
- Justin Vaughan – former Black Cap, CEO New Zealand Cricket
- Lou Vincent – former Black Cap (National Cricket Team)
- Willie Watson – former NZ cricketer
Football
[edit]- Robert Ironside – former captain All White
- Neil Jones – former All White
- Tommy Smith – footballer, All Whites
Motorsport
[edit]- Nick Cassidy — New Zealand racing driver, current Formula E driver for Jaguar TCS Racing.[12]
Rowing
[edit]- Michael Brake – 2021 Olympic Gold medallist
- Andy Hay – 1984 Olympic coxswain
- Barrie Mabbott – Olympic Bronze medallist rower
- Mike Stanley – 1984 Olympic rower[13]
- Eric Verdonk – Olympic Bronze medallist rower
Rugby league
[edit]- Frano Botica – former All Black and Kiwi
- Taniela Tuiaki – former Kiwi and West Tigers
Rugby union
[edit]- Chandler Cunningham-South - current England rugby player
- Nick Evans – former All Black
- Mike Harris – former Wallaby
- Dillon Hunt – former All Black
- Luke McAlister – former All Black
- Wayne Pivac – former Wales national rugby union team coach
- Ron Williams – former All Black[citation needed]
Sailing
[edit]- Tom Ashley – Olympic Gold medalist board sailor
- Dean Barker – a skipper of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics
- Chris Dickson – former helmsman of BMW Oracle Racing and had participated in Louis Vuitton Cup
- Hamish Pepper – Navigator of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup 2003 as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics in 1996, 2004, 2008 & 2012
Shooting
[edit]- Malcolm Cooper – double Olympic Gold Medallist and founder of weapons manufacturing company Accuracy International, makers of the Arctic Warfare Magnum rifle
References
[edit]- ^ a b "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ "Westlake Girls' High School".
- ^ Sparks, Zizi (17 February 2017). "Former Westlake High School students celebrate 60-year reunion". North Shore Times.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Curriculum Review 2015 | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ Nicoll, Andrew. "Westlake Boys High School 2019 Board of Trustees Annual Report" (PDF). Westlake Boys High School.
- ^ [2] Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Arts | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ [3] Archived 23 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Meet the Team – John Watson". Putting People First. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ "Motorsport: Teen prodigy changes gear for TRS series". 16 January 2011.
- ^ "Mike Stanley". Westlake Boys High School. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
