Wellington High School (New Zealand)

Infobox NZ school
name = Wellington High School & Community Education Centre
badge =
motto = Excellence in Learning
type = State secondary co-educational years 9-13
established = 1886
address = Taranaki Street,
Wellington,
New Zealand
principal = Prue Kelly
roll = 1182
decile = 9 [ [http://www.minedu.govt.nz/web/downloadable/dl7698_v1/decile-changes-2007-2008-web-state-s-integ.xls Decile change 2007 to 2008 for state & state integrated schools] ]
MOE = 273
homepage = [http://www.whs.school.nz www.whs.school.nz]

Wellington High School is a co-educational (since 1905) secondary school in downtown Wellington, New Zealand. In 2005 the roll was approximately 1100 students. It was founded, as Wellington College of Design, in the 1880s with the intention of providing a more appropriate education for the Dominion than the narrow academic training provided by the existing schools. It is the first co-educational secondary in New Zealand.

Many of the current buildings date from the 1980s and are in the neo-brutalist style pyramidal roofs.

History

Wellington High School, and the institutions from which the current school evolved, have a significant place in the history of public education in New Zealand. It was founded in 1886 by Arthur Dewhurst Riley as the Wellington College of Design. In 1891 the school became Wellington Technical School. It moved to its present site on Taranaki Street from Mercer Street in 1922. Riley was a pioneer of technical and vocational education in New Zealand and his views influenced the Manual and Technical Instruction Act of 1900.

In 1964 the secondary and tertiary education parts separated, the upper part becoming Wellington Polytechnical School. Wellington Poly has now become Massey University's Wellington Campus. Other technical schools have also gone on to become tertiary institutions, including Auckland University of Technology and Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. The school retains a large community education programme.

The history of Wellington Technical College up to 1961 is described in " The school that Riley built;: The story of the Wellington Technical College from 1886 to the present day" Noel Harrison, ASIN: B0007JSZJ2.

Current affairs

The School was New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Export Awards Education Exporter of the Year 2004 [ [http://www.marketnewzealand.com/MNZ/news/story/14403/13639.aspx?Buyer=true Market New Zealand] (dead link)] .

In 2004, the school made the national headlines [cite news
url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz//section/1/print.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3587876
title=Destiny vows to move on as protest mars birthday
publisher=New Zealand Herald
date= 2004-08-30
accessdate=2007-05-04] when students campaigned for the eviction of the Wellington branch of the Destiny Church, which was using the school hall for its services. Despite over 50% of enrolled students signing their names to a petition, the church still conducts services at the school.

In 2006, in response to research on Wellington High students [cite web|url=http://masseynews.massey.ac.nz/magazine/2003_April/stories/gander.html|title=Professor Philippa Gander and the Sleep/Wake Research Centre] , and an award-winning student video [cite web|url=http://www.rsnz.org/news/releases/rsnz-bigsci020506.php|title=The First BIG Science Adventures Winners] , Principal Prue Kelly introduced a scheme which allows senior students' first classes to begin at 10:20am (as opposed to 8:45am). This issue has received much media coverage (e.g. [cite web|url=http://www.secondaryfutures.co.nz/matrix/2006/06/wellhigh_media.php|title=Senior students switched on after a sleep-in] [cite news|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411415/710362|title=School trials later start time] ) and very little controversy. Principal Prue Kelly is confident that this progressive trial in timetable restructuring will "catch on" and other schools will begin to adopt it as well.

In September 2007, the schools reputation was put under threat after it was discovered that some Year 13 (7th form) students were consuming alcohol during lunchtimes at a nearby university cafe. [cite news
url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4187783a10.html
title=Schoolkids pop out for beers at lunchtime
publisher=The Dominion Post
date= 2007-09-03
accessdate=2007-12-10]

LiveWire radio station

The school has a student-run radio station, LiveWire, which transmits at 107.1. It has a range of approximately 4 km. [cite web|url=http://www.whs.school.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=154&Itemid=96|title=Livewire 107.1|accessdate=2007-05-04] [cite web|url=http://www.low-power-fm-radio.spacejunk.co.nz/lpfm-radio-station-list.asp|title=The New Zealand LPFM Radio Station Network|accessdate=2007-05-04]

Famous alumni

* Dan Weekes-Hannah - Actor
* King Kapisi - Musician
* Len Lye - Artist - attended evening art classes at Wellington Technical College (now Wellington High School) see [http://www.wellingtonwaterfront.co.nz/newsletter/newsletter.htm?m=35 On the Waterfront]
* Jon Toogood and Tom Larkin - Musicians - Shihad
* Ben Hazlewood - NZ Idol contestant
* Helen Kelly - President of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
* Luke Buda & Samuel Flynn Scott - Musicians - Phoenix Foundation
* Tandi Wright - Actress - Shortland Street & Out of the Blue
* Craig Bradshaw - Sportsman - Tall Blacks & Winthrop University
* Eric Tindall - Sportsman - Double All Black - Cricket and Rugby

Other schools with the same name

There are also Wellington High Schools in Florida, Colorado, Kansas, Ohio and Texas

References