Rutherford College, Auckland
| Rutherford College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
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| Coordinates | 36°51′05″S 174°38′47″E / 36.8513°S 174.6465°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State co-ed secondary (Year 9–13) |
| Established | 5 February 1961; 64 years ago |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 40 |
| Principal | Gary Moore |
| School roll | 1,585[1] (March 2025) |
| Socio-economic decile | 5M[2] |
| Website | www |
Rutherford College (formerly named Rutherford High School from 1961 to 2001) is a co-educational state secondary school on the Te Atatū Peninsula, Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after New Zealand-born nuclear physicist and chemist Ernest Rutherford.
History
[edit]Rutherford High School opened in 1961, with Eric Clark as the first principal. The school rapidly developed as the farms and orchards of Te Atatū were developed into housing.[3] The school was the first in New Zealand to offer drama and dance as school subjects.[3]
Eric Clark was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours,[4][5] and retired as principal the following year.[6]
Enrolment
[edit]As of March 2025, Rutherford College has a roll of 1,585 students, of which 354 (22.3%) identify as Māori.[1]
As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 460,[7] placing it amongst schools whose students have average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 5 and 6 under the former socio-economic decile system).[8]
Curriculum
[edit]
Rutherford College is a New Zealand Qualifications Authority accredited co-educational Year 9–13 State Secondary school. It caters for students from year 9 to year 13, as well as providing adult education, special education and night courses. It offers well-qualified, professional staff are very successful in challenging students to achieve academic success in national assessments. The school teaches core subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science, and helps senior students pass NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement). As well as core subjects, specialist subjects such as Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Māori and German are taught as a second language, as well as aviation, environmental science and biochemistry, arts, physical education, technology, accounting and economics.[9]
Tradition
[edit] |
The College encourages student participation in a wide range of extracurricular activities, again challenging students to reach their full potential in all areas.
- The school celebrates annually, Rutherford Day, to commemorate the history of the school.
- The official school song is ‘Me Hui Hui’,[10][11] written by Pita Sharples[12]
- Rutherford Colleges Kapa Haka group 'Te Rōpu Kapa Haka o Te Kōtuku' is also the top Mainstream group in the Auckland region.
Notable staff
[edit]- Chris Carter (born 1952), politician
- Cliff Edmeades (born 1941), principal (1989–2006)[13]
- Jack Elder (born 1949), politician
- Dame June Mariu (born 1932), community leader[14]
Notable alumni
[edit] | This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. (September 2023) |
Sport
[edit]- Ken Carrington – rugby union player, All Black (1971–72)
- Ron Cribb – rugby union player, expelled
- Robbie Hunter-Paul – rugby league player
- Darren Liddel – weightlifter
- Kees Meeuws – rugby union player
- Henry Paul – rugby union and rugby league player
- Garth da Silva – boxer
- Gavin Stevens – cyclist
- Sam Tuitupou – rugby union player
- Ivan Vicelich – association footballer
- Peter Webb – cricketer
- Yvonne Willering – netball player and coach
The arts
[edit]- The La De Da's – 1960s/70s rock band, including Kevin Borich, first formed at Rutherford High[15]
- Oscar Kightley – TV personality, actor (Bro' Town, Sione's Wedding)
- Pio Terei – TV personality, actor and comedian
Public service
[edit]- Simon Bridges – Former Minister of Transport and former National Party leader and MP for Tauranga. (Also the former Head Boy of the school)[16]
- Dame Cindy Kiro – children's commissioner, academic, governor-general
- Tim Shadbolt – Mayor of Invercargill, former mayor of Waitemata City (one of the founding students of the school)
- Rawiri Waititi – Current Member of Parliament for Waiariki (New Zealand electorate), Co-Leader of Te Pāti Māori.
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
- ^ Decile change 2007 to 2008 for state & state integrated schools
- ^ a b Devaliant, Judith (2009). "History Lessons". In Macdonald, Finlay; Kerr, Ruth (eds.). West: The History of Waitakere. Random House. p. 207. ISBN 9781869790080.
- ^ "No. 49376". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 11 June 1983. p. 34.
- ^ "Varied services gain reward". The Press. 11 June 1983. p. 4. Retrieved 19 March 2025 – via PapersPast.
- ^ "Wealth of experience". The Press. 22 February 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 19 March 2025 – via PapersPast.
- ^ "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
- ^ "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Rutherford College Prospectus
- ^ rutherfordcollege (20 July 2007). Me Hui Hui - Rutherford Day '06. Retrieved 16 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ rutherfordcollege (1 July 2007). Me Hui Hui - Rutherford College Jipers Choir. Retrieved 16 July 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Ernest Rutherford - Scientist Supreme". www.rutherford.org.nz. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Max (1991). Who's Who in New Zealand, 1991 (12th ed.). Auckland: Octopus. pp. 178f. ISBN 9780790001302.
- ^ Forbes, Stephen (5 June 2012). "Tribute to Dame's efforts with Maori". Western Leader. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Schmidt, Andrew. "The La De Da's – Profile". Audio Culture. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Hewitson, Michelle (14 April 2018). "Simon Bridges is on a mission to get people to know (and like) him". NZ Listener. Vol. 263, no. 4062. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 28 April 2018.