St Thomas of Canterbury College
| St Thomas of Canterbury College | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
| 69 Middlepark Rd, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, New Zealand |
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| Coordinates | 43°32′04″S 172°33′24″E / 43.5344°S 172.5566°ECoordinates: 43°32′04″S 172°33′24″E / 43.5344°S 172.5566°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Integrated Catholic Boys Secondary (Years 7-13) |
| Motto | Virtute Scientiam Complete |
| Established | 6 February 1961; 56 years ago |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 331 |
| Principal | Christine O'Brien |
| School roll | 633(February 2017) |
| Socio-economic decile | 8P |
| Website | stc.school.nz |
St Thomas of Canterbury College is a college for year 7 to 13 boys and offers a Catholic education to its students. It is located in Christchurch, New Zealand. The college is integrated into the state education system under an integration agreement which was first entered into by the Christian Brothers (as the proprietors of the college) and the Government of New Zealand on 11 November 1981 under Section 7 of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. St Thomas of Canterbury College is located in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn.
In 2006 the ethnic composition of St Thomas of Canterbury College was New Zealand European/Pākeha 72%, Māori 7%, Samoan 3%, Other Pacifica 1%, Asian 13%, Middle Eastern 2% and Others 2%. The college excels in sporting, cultural, scientific and enterprise activities. Academically, the school offers for senior years the National Certificate of Educational Achievement assessment system (NCEA).
A Christian Brothers' school in Christchurch was first proposed in the 1880s. The third Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, Patrick Francis Lyons (Bishop 1944-1950) acquired land on Sockburn in West Christchurch and formally invited the Christian Brothers to provide the staff. There was no progress for several years. Eventually Brother Marlow, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, and Edward Michael Joyce, the fourth Catholic Bishop of Christchurch (Bishop 1950-1964), agreed, and St Thomas of Canterbury College held its first classes on 6 February 1961 (Waitangi Day - not a public holiday then).
The initial roll was 99 students in Forms 1-3 (years 7-9). The foundation staff were Brothers James Ignatius McClintock (Principal), Ian T Mahon and Carroll. Brother Simon Germaine Coughlan joined them in 1962. The school expanded its area when eight acres was acquired on the other side of Middle Park Road to be used as sports fields. Later several smaller areas were acquired to extend the fields, provide better access to them from the school, provide changing sheds and to provide a site for a residence for the Brothers. In 1964 Edward Joyce, the Bishop of Christchurch, transferred the ownership of the school to the Christian Brothers in whose ownership it remains. The college obtained scholastic success very early, especially when three students (J.G. Cleary, P.M. Heffernan and K.F. Hosking (Cleary and Hosking were both in the lower sixth form)) obtained Junior National University Scholarships in 1967. The New Zealand Herald commented that this was remarkable as St Thomas of Canterbury College was a new school and it was only the third year that it had an upper sixth form).
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