Whakatāne High School

Whakatāne High School
Location
Goulstone Road

Whakatāne

New Zealand
Coordinates37°57′44″S 176°59′07″E / 37.9621°S 176.9854°E / -37.9621; 176.9854
Information
Funding typeState
MottoKia Whakatane Au I Ahau
Opened1920 (As Whakatane District High School)
Ministry of Education Institution no.144
PrincipalPeter Barsdell
Years offered9–13
GenderCo-educational
Number of students1,205[1] (October 2025)
Hours in school day6 hours and 25 minutes
HousesKauri, Rimu, Totara, Matai
Colours  Black
  Gold
SloganChallenging Students to Achieve
Socio-economic decile4K[2]
Websitewww.whakatanehigh.school.nz

Whakatāne High School is a secondary school located in the town of Whakatāne, New Zealand. As of 2025, the school has a roll of over 1200 students and aims to offer every student an equal opportunity to succeed with strong values around responsibility, respect and achievement. Whakatāne High School has a 100-year history as a co-educational public high school, opening in 1920 as Whakatane District High School, becoming a full high school in 1950.[3] The school held its centennial on 2–3 April 2021, postponed from 2020.[4]

History

Whakatāne High School is over a century old, opening in 1920 as Whakatane District High School, becoming a full high school in 1950. In 1973, as the population of Whakatāne neared 10,000, Trident High School was opened.[5]

Facilities and buildings

The school consists of a field, gymnasium (a separate gymnastics building operated by the local Gymnastics Club lies next to it), school & student office, Careers Centre, the Barclay Hall, a library (named in November 2011 after New Zealand author Margaret Mahy, who went to Whakatāne High School for a period of time), and numerous buildings split into blocks including: N block (Mainly used for Math and Computer sciences), T Block (Mainly used for Technology), B Block (Mainly for English, Social Studies and related subjects), A block (Multiple subjects including Languages and Health), C Block (Mainly for art and related subjects) and L Block (Mainly for science and related subjects).

  • The N block
    The N block
  • The L block
    The L block
  • The T block
    The T block
  • The main office viewed from Goulstone rd.
    The main office viewed from Goulstone rd.

Students

As of the 1st of July 2023, the total school roll was 1067 students. 62.76% of the students are European / Pākehā, 46.33% are Māori, 2.53% are Pacific, 4.98% identify as Asian, 0.87% are classified as MELAA, and 1.22% are registered as Other.[6] There are 39 international students as of the first of July, 2023.

Houses

Students at Whakatāne High School are split into one of four houses. Each house is named after a tree that is native to New Zealand. Students compete in school-related sporting and cultural events to win points for their house. At the end of the year, the house with the largest number of points is named champion for that year. The houses are represented by a colour and are listed below:

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Welcome". Whakatane High School. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  4. ^ "Centennial 2021". Whakatane High School. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  5. ^ Williams, Shirley; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Whakatāne High School". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  6. ^ Counts, Education. "Ministry of Education - Education Counts". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  7. ^ "MAORI ALL BLACK". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Alumni – Whakatāne High School". Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  9. ^ "Enchanted fans help keep Mahy's magic alive". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  10. ^ Cheng, Derek. "Grandpa Marshall gets 'trip of a lifetime' to final". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  11. ^ Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 341. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  12. ^ "SunLive - Bay rugby player lands prestigious award - The Bay's News First". sunlive.co.nz. 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
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