St Thomas of Canterbury College

Infobox NZ school
name = St Thomas of Canterbury College
motto = "Virtute Scientiam Complete"
badge =
type = Integrated Catholic Boys Secondary (Year 7-13)
established = 1961
address = 69 Middlepark Rd,
Upper Riccarton,
Christchurch,
New Zealand
principal = Christine O'Brien
roll = 486
decile = 8
MOE = 331
homepage = [http://www.stthomas-coll.school.nz/index.htm]

St Thomas of Canterbury College is a college for year 7 to 13 boys and offers a Catholic education to its students. It is located in Christchurch, New Zealand. The college is integrated into the state education system under an integration agreement which was first entered into by the Christian Brothers (as the proprietors of the college) and the Government of New Zealand on 11 November, 1981 under Section 7 of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. [St Thomas' Jubilee 1961 - 1986, St Thomas of Canterbury Jubilee Committee, Christchurch, 1986, p. 48.] St Thomas of Canterbury College is located in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn.

Roll

In 2006 the ethnic composition of St Thomas of Canterbury College was New Zealand European/Pākeha 72%, Māori 7%, Samoan 3%, Other Pacifica 1%, Asian 13%,Middle Eastern 2% and Others 2%. [ [http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/reppub.nsf/0/95E49F967B736673CC2571D4000CF240/$File/331.htm?Open#_Toc144192156 Education Review Report] ] The college excels in sporting, cultural, scientific and enterprise [ [http://www.tki.org.nz/r/education_for_enterprise/business/st-thomas_e.php TKI - Education for Enterprise – St Thomas of Canterbury College ] ] activities. Academically, the school offers for senior years the National Certificate of Educational Achievement assessment system (NCEA).

History

A Christian Brothers' school in Christchurch was first proposed in the 1880s. The third Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Patrick Francis Lyons (Bishop 1944-1950) acquired land on Sockburn in West Christchurch and formally invited the Christian Brothers to provide the staff. There was no progress for several years. Eventually Brother Marlow, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, and Edward Michael Joyce, the fourth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (Bishop 1950-1964), agreed, and St Thomas of Canterbury College held its first classes on 6 February 1961 (Waitangi Day was not a holiday at that time). [Donaldson, p. 12; http://www.chch.catholic.org.nz/?sid=202]

Houses

The names and colours of the St Thomas of Canterbury College Houses are:
* Joyce - red
* Marlow - yellow
* Rice - black
* McClintock - green

Principals

* Br J I McClintock: (1961-1966)(Foundation Principal)
* Br M B Scanlan: (1967-1972)
* Br F C Waigth: (1973-1978)
* Br J H Shepherd: (1979-1981)
* Br V I Jury: (1982-1987)
* Br N C Gillies: (1988-1994)
* Br R J Walsh: (1994-2000)
* Mr Bruce Stevenson (2001-2007)(First Lay Principal)
* Mrs Christine O'Brien (2007-)

Notable former staff

*

Notable alumni

Church

* Brother Charles O'Rourke cfc (b. 1955): first old boy of St Thomas of Canterbury College to enter the Christian Brothers (?).

port

* Mark Garry Hammett (b. 1972): All Black (1998-2003), Hooker. [ [http://stats.allblacks.com/Profile.asp?ABID=353 New Zealand All Blacks Player Profiles, Match Details and Statistics ] ]
* Ryan Nelsen (born October 18, 1977 in Christchurch, New Zealand), international soccer player
* Adam Highfield professional New Zealand soccer player.

Notes

reflist

References/Sources

* "St Thomas' Jubilee 1961-1986", St Thomas of Canterbury Jubilee Committee, Christchurch, 1986.
* Paul Malcolm Robertson, "Nga Parata Karaitiana The Christian Brothers, A Public Culture in Transition, A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces", an unpublished thesis for MA in Anthropology, University of Auckland, 1996.
* Graeme Donaldson, "To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers In New Zealand 1876-2001", Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001.
* [http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/reppub.nsf/0/95E49F967B736673CC2571D4000CF240/$File/331.htm?Open Education Review Office, Education Review Report: St Thomas of Canterbury College, November 2005]
* Rick Maxwell, "St Peter's College, Auckland", Simerlocy Press, Auckland, 2008.

External links

* [http://www.stthomas-coll.school.nz/index.htm/ St Thomas of Canterbury College website]
* [http://www.edmundrice.org.nz/index.php/ Edmund Rice Network]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dauck.html/ Catholic-hierarchy website]
* [http://www.chch.catholic.org.nz/// Catholic Diocese of Christchurch]
* [http://www.catholic.org.nz// Catholic Church in New Zealand]