Whangaparaoa College

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Whangaparāoa College
Māori: Kāreti o Whangaparāoa
Location
8 Stanmore Bay Rd, Stanmore Bay, Whangaparāoa, Auckland, New Zealand
36°37′54″S 174°44′44″E / 36.6317°S 174.7455°E / -36.6317; 174.7455
Information
TypeNon-Integrated co-ed, Composite (Year 7–13)
MottoTogether, Believe, Achieve (Ngatahi, Whakapono, Tutuki)
Established28 January 2005 (2005-01-28)
Ministry of Education Institution no.
6763
Principal
Steve McCracken[1]
Enrollment1,948[2] (March 2026)
Colours
  •   Blue
  •   Green
Socio-economic decile
9Q[3]
Former names
  • Stanmore Bay Secondary School
  • Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School
Websitewgpcollege.school.nz

Whangaparāoa College is a co-educational state secondary school on the Hibiscus Coast of New Zealand. The school has a roll of 1,948[2] students from Years 7 to 13 (as of March 2026), including international students.

History

Prior to the opening of Whangaparāoa College, Orewa College was the sole secondary school operating on the Hibiscus Coast.[4] Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School operated on the site now occupied by Whangaparāoa College.[5]

Announced in 2003,[4] and initially named Stanmore Bay Secondary School,[6] Whangaparāoa College opened on 28 January 2005[5] absorbing Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School.[5] Brian O'Connell served as founding principal until 2012.[7]

As one of several modern high schools to open in the early 2000s alongside Botany Downs Secondary College and Alfriston College,[8] the school's facilities and technology used are leaders in the New Zealand education system,[8] being only the third new high school to open since 1981.[9] Whangaparāoa College positions itself as an environmentally aware site.[10]

Following O'Connell's departure, James Thomas served as principal from 2012.[11] In mid-2021, Steve McCracken took over as principal.[12]

Demographics

At the school's latest Education Review Office review in 2016,[13] Whangaparāoa College had 1285 students enrolled. Fifty-two percent of students were female and forty-eight percent were male. Seventy-eight percent of students identified as European New Zealanders (Pākehā), ten percent as Māori, four percent as Asian, two percent as Pasifika, and six percent as another ethnicity.[13]

Whangaparāoa College has an equity index rating of 447[14], placing it amongst schools whose students have below average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 7 under the former socio-economic decile system).[15]

Notes

  1. Whangaparaoa College 2021 Staff List, 15 August 2021
  2. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  4. "New secondary school for Hibiscus Coast planned". The Beehive. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. "Merger of Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School (6931) and Whangaparaoa College (6763) - 2004-go2735- New Zealand Gazette". gazette.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  6. "School Establishment - 2003-go5689- New Zealand Gazette". gazette.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  7. Ong, Michelle (24 February 2012). "Principal heads to Sydney". North Harbour News. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  8. "Learning in state-of-the-art classrooms". The New Zealand Herald. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  9. "Whangaparaoa College Board of Trustees". wgpcollege.school.nz. 13 June 2004. Archived from the original on 13 June 2004. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  10. "About Us". Whangaparāoa College. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. "Principal's message". Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  12. Matters, Local (4 June 2021). "New principal for Whangaparaoa College". Local Matters. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  13. "Whangaparaoa College | Education Review Office". ero.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  14. "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
  15. "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.