Selwyn College, Auckland

Selwyn College
Address
Kohimarama Road,
Kohimarama,
Auckland,
New Zealand
Coordinates 36°51′45″S 174°50′17″E / 36.8625°S 174.8381°E / -36.8625; 174.8381Coordinates: 36°51′45″S 174°50′17″E / 36.8625°S 174.8381°E / -36.8625; 174.8381
Information
Type State, Co-educational, Secondary
Established 1956
Ministry of Education Institution no. 49
Principal Sheryll Ofner
School roll 1033[1] (July 2016)
Socio-economic decile 4J[2]
Website selwyn.school.nz

Selwyn College is a co-educational public secondary school in the Eastern Suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand.

Selwyn offers the NCEA qualification, and regularly achieves good results in NZQA Scholarship exams in a wide range of subjects.

History

Selwyn College was built in 1956[3] to service Auckland's rapidly growing suburban sprawl and newly developed areas like Meadowbank-St. Johns and Kohimarama-Orakei. Ngata Pitcaithly was the school's foundation principal.[4]

The college has an annual full-school term one musical, and other theatrical productions throughout the year.[5] Selwyn has one of the largest theaters in a New Zealand public school. Selwyn also holds an annual multicultural show, featuring performances from the many ethnic and cultural groups represented in the school's community.

Selwyn College is home to the ASB Stadium where numerous local, national and international sporting events are held.

Selwyn College has one of the largest community education centres in New Zealand, offering opportunities for lifelong learning to members of the community who wish to undertake adult study of academic, language-based, technical and recreational courses.

Selwyn has featured in the media as the school that educated the refugees who arrived in New Zealand following the Tampa affair in 2001.

As a multi-cultural school in the eastern suburbs area, Selwyn values its historic connections with Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Selwyn recognises the globally interconnected nature of the world we live in and regularly arranges for its top students to attend the Global Young Leaders Conference.

Prior to the appointment of Sheryll Ofner as principal in 2008, Selwyn College experienced a tumultuous few years as some local residents and the local MP Allan Peachey criticised the school for its falling roll and alleged academic and disciplinary failures. Other members of the school community, parents, teachers and students fiercely defended the school in the face of what they saw as unfair criticisms. Peachey was forced to apologise publicly for sending an offensive email to the then co-principal, Carol White ONZM.[6] The Government dissolved Selwyn's Board of Trustees and replaced it with a commissioner on 20 January 2009, due to longstanding differences between board members and some members of the local community.[7] Some level of stability has been restored to the school in later 2009 as the new administration has consolidated itself. A new uniform has been introduced to help 'rebrand' the school. Academic results, while never as bad as the school's critics made out, have noticeably improved since 2008, with a Selwyn year 12 pupil topping New Zealand in one of the 2009 Cambridge International AS Level Examinations.

Selwyn usually enters school teams in annual school performance competitions including Bring It On, the Big Sing, and the SmokefreeRockQuest. They are also well known for their drama and present 1-3 performances every year.

In 2002, Selwyn College hosted the filming of a popular TV3 television documentary series called School Rules which followed the lives of several Selwyn students.

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

References

  1. ↑ "Directory of Schools - as at 2 August 2016". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Selwyn College Jubilee Book", Selwyn College Jubilee Book.
  4. ↑ Simpkin, Gay. "Ngata Prosser Pitcaithly". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. ↑ "Selwyn College Prospectus", Selwyn College Prospectus
  6. ↑ Rushworth, Anna (25 January 2009). "Six months to shape up". The New Zealand Herald.
  7. ↑ "Govt sacks troubled Selwyn College's board". The New Zealand Herald. 20 January 2008.
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