King's High School, Dunedin
King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single-sex girls' school, Queen's High School. Both schools share several facilities, including the multimillion-dollar Performing Arts Centre which opened in 2006. The school first opened in 1936, and held its 75th anniversary in late 2010.
King's High School | |
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Address | |
270 Bayview Road | |
Coordinates | 45.903217°S 170.494294°E |
Information | |
Type | State Secondary |
Motto | "Building Men For Life" |
Established | 1936 |
Sister school | Queen's High School |
Ministry of Education Institution no. | 383 |
Rector | Nick McIvor [1] |
Gender | Boys |
School roll | 979[2] (March 2020) |
Houses | Stuart Hanover Tudor Windsor |
Colour(s) | Navy, Light Blue |
Socio-economic decile | 7O[3] |
Website | kingshigh.school.nz Facebook page |
In 2011, the school had the highest National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) pass rates for state boys' schools in New Zealand.[4] Among the results, the level one score averaged at 93.4% (a significant increase from 71% in 2008). In 2017, NCEA pass rates continued to be above the national average, with NCEA Level One averaging 96.6%, and Level Three averaging 90.0%.[5]
King's had 722 pupils in 2007, growing to 1,008 pupils in 2014, the highest roll in King's 78-year history. The size of the roll also meant that King's became the largest school in the Otago region, overtaking Taieri College in the process.[6] Since then, student numbers have remained steady, measuring 1,041 students in 2018.[7]
Facilities
King's High School was re-built across almost a decade in the mid-1990s. The school has separate sports facilities, a purpose-built catering suite and performing arts centre. The school also has a camp and classroom off-site in Warrington, north of Dunedin, which students in year nine visit for their school camp.
In 2006, King's High School (along with Queen's) added a multimillion-dollar performing arts centre, with a capacity of almost 500. The facility is used by both schools, and the surrounding community. In 2010, renovations were made to the schools gymnasium. Later in 2018, renovations took place in the art department with plans for additional upgrading.
House system
New students to King's are placed into one of four houses – Tudor, Windsor, Stuart or Hanover, based on the Historic English royal houses.[8] Throughout the year, juniors and seniors compete in many sports, cultural and performance based activities. In term four, the house with the most points wins the 'House shield'. Some events include: rugby sevens, football, basketball, athletics, cross country, softball, singing, haka competition, debating and chess. Athletics, Cross Country, Singing and the haka competition are all full school, compulsory events worth double house points. All other interhouse events are optional and done at lunchtime.
Extracurricular activities
King's has many extramural competitions with Southland Boys' High School, Otago Boys' High School, Waitaki Boys' High School and Shirley Boys' High School. Since the opening of the performing arts center in 2006, King's and Queen's have staged several musicals.
Notable alumni
- The arts
- James K. Baxter – poet and social critic
- Tony Ballantyne – author and historian
- Christopher de Hamel - academic librarian, historian and writer[9]
- Grahame Sydney – painter
- Riki Gooch – musician (TrinityRoots)
- Broadcasting and media
- Murray Deaker – radio and television sports show host
- Peter Montgomery – yachting commentator
- Ian Templeton – political journalist
- Public service
- David Benson-Pope – politician
- Warren Cooper – politician
- Grant Robertson – politician
- Sport
- Tony Brown – rugby union player
- Glen Denham – basketballer
- Carl Hayman – rugby union player
- Chris Laidlaw – rugby union player, diplomat, politician, broadcaster, author
- Warren Lees – cricket player and coach
- Laurie Mains – rugby union player and coach
- Brendon McCullum – cricketer
- Nathan McCullum – cricketer
- Joe McDonnell – rugby union player
- Paul Miller – rugby union player
- Ken Rutherford – cricketer
- Brad Scott – cricketer
- Ben Smith – rugby union player
- Kupu Vanisi – rugby union player
- Tom Willis – rugby union player
- Uili Kolo'ofai – rugby union player
Rector list
- Dudley Chisholm (1936–1947)
- Bill Lang (1948–1961)
- Harry Craig (1962–1966)
- Jack Bremner (1966–1981)
- Ian Simpson (1982–1997)
- Lindsay James (LJ) Hocking (1997–2001)
- Colin Donald (2001–2008)
- Dan Reddiex (2008–2019)
- Nick McIvor (2019–present)
Notes
- Lewis, John (16 April 2019). "New King's High rector appointed". Otago Daily Times Online News.
- "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- "King's top NCEA results". Otago Daily Times. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- Studio, The Logic; Design, Swiwi. "Our Results". King's High School. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Lewis, John (14 June 2014). "Kings crowned biggest Otago school". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Counts, Education. "Ministry of Education - Education Counts". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Studio, The Logic; Design, Swiwi. "House System". King's High School. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- "Wall of Fame | KHS Old Boys Association". www.kingshigholdboys.co.nz.