Avondale College, Auckland
| Avondale College | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 59 Victor Street Avondale Auckland New Zealand |
|
| Coordinates | 36°53′27″S 174°41′25″E / 36.8907°S 174.6903°ECoordinates: 36°53′27″S 174°41′25″E / 36.8907°S 174.6903°E |
| Information | |
| Funding type | State |
| Motto | Kohia nga taikaka (Seek the Heartwood) |
| Established | 1945 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 78 |
| Principal | Brent Lewis |
| Years offered | 9–13 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Color(s) | Black and White |
| School roll | 2818(February 2017) |
| Socio-economic decile | 4J |
| Website | [1] |
Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central-western Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Avondale. With a roll of 2818 students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18), it is one of the largest schools in New Zealand.
The principal of Avondale College and head of the 180 teachers is Brent Lewis. Many staff members of Avondale College come from Britain, through frequent teacher recruitment trips by the principal. Lewis became principal in 2001 after the death of Phil Raffills, who went to great lengths to reform the school. Raffills oversaw the redevelopment of the school buildings after much of the site was destroyed in a fire in 1990.
Brent Lewis took over from acting principal (former deputy principal) Warren Peat, who went on to become principal of Saint Kentigern College.
Chair of the Board of Trustees is Deb Collis, who has served on the board since 2005.
Avondale College students wear a black and white uniform with the school crest on it that has variations depending on year level and gender, which changed from an older black, white and grey one in 2004. Formal attire is blazers and ties.
Avondale has a sister school in Japan called Daito Bunka, which is a preparatory school for Daito Bunka University, Tokyo.
The school has adopted NCEA for assessments and examinations. Cambridge International Examinations have also been adopted as an alternative to NCEA in 2009 and onwards.
The site and buildings of Avondale College began their life as an American Naval Hospital in 1943: U.S. Naval Mobile Hospital Number 6. At that time the USA was preparing for an extended Second World War battle in the South Pacific and Auckland was chosen as one of a few New Zealand cities for hospitals to tend the wounded army and naval personnel.
The facility was designed by Tibor Donner (then in the NZ Public Works Department) and was built by Fletcher Construction. The Department of Education had some of the site planned for a new secondary school to cope with the overcrowding of Auckland secondary schools. The hospital was given first priority, but a small portion of the buildings were built in permanent materials so that the wards, the gymnasium, the hall and some other buildings could be converted into a school at the end of the war. The extent of the hospital was huge, taking up all of the present school site as well as the nearby Rosebank Park and fields.
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