Hillcrest High School (New Zealand)
Encyclopedia
Hillcrest High School is a coeducational state secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand
, located in the east Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest
.
A wide variety of subjects can be taken at Hillcrest High, ranging from Visual Art to Mechanics, international languages as well as standard subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science.
between 2002-5. A student in 2008 scored 99% in the Cambridge English exam, achieving the highest score in the world.
Youth, Amnesty International
, Students Against Drunk Driving, Greenpeace
and an Eastside Pentecostal Christian Group and a Bible Society
Bible study group.
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, located in the east Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest
Hillcrest, Waikato
Hillcrest is a suburb in south-eastern Hamilton in New Zealand. The suburb is the home to the University of Waikato and consequently has a large student population. It is located on the east side of the Hamilton Town Belt, a series of public parks that run from the Hamilton Gardens to Ruakura in...
.
General
The school examines students using the New Zealand standard, National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Cambridge examinations for Mathematics and English are also available for able Year 12 students.A wide variety of subjects can be taken at Hillcrest High, ranging from Visual Art to Mechanics, international languages as well as standard subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science.
Academic success
Hillcrest High is reasonably well known because of its academic success. In 2005, Hillcrest students received a total of 54 scholarships, the sixth highest number of scholarships of any high school in the North Island. Seven Hillcrest students received Top Scholar Awards from the New Zealand Qualifications AuthorityNew Zealand Qualifications Authority
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is the New Zealand government crown entity tasked with providing leadership in assessment and qualifications....
between 2002-5. A student in 2008 scored 99% in the Cambridge English exam, achieving the highest score in the world.
Extracurricular cultural activities
Hillcrest High often puts on regular concerts and other cultural events. Below, is a brief list of the regular events:- ILC Concert, held in August every year, hosted by Assistant Principal, Mrs. Sue Radford.
- International Concert is held yearly also, in March. The International Concert is held to recognise the multi-culturalness of Hillcrest High. International cuisine can also be sampled beforehand.
- School productions is also a regular, three yearly event. Usually a musical and held at a HamiltonHamilton, New ZealandHamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
City theatre. These musicals have included SeussicalSeussicalis a musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss's most famous books. After a Broadway run, the production spawned two US national tours and a UK tour...
(2006), a musical based around Dr.Seuss's works. The most recent musical was South PacificSouth Pacific (musical)South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
.
- There are also drama productions held usually at least once a school term. This will usually include a Shakespeare production, a 6th form production and a 7th form production.
Student groups and clubs
Involvement in cultural activities is an important part of Hillcrest High School. Annual events include the school production and an International Concert that reflects the multiculturalism of the school. The school has social interest groups, including United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Youth, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Students Against Drunk Driving, Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and an Eastside Pentecostal Christian Group and a Bible Society
Bible society
A Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life...
Bible study group.
School facilities
Hillcrest High has a large range of facilities available to students including;- A guidance counsellor and Careers reference department
- A Nurse and a doctor are available on Thursdays, as well as a physiotherapist.
- The Anti-Harassment Team is also a team of trained senior, Year 13 students who provide guidance events for students who are experiencing bullying etc.
- Interdependent Learning center and Physical assistance center
Motto
There are two commonplace Latin pronunciations: in Ecclesiastical Latin the school motto 'Circumspice' is pronounced chir-koom-spee-cheh, in Classical Latin it is pronounced as keer-koom-speek-eh. It means 'look around you'.Notable people
- Sonia WaddellSonia WaddellSonia Waddell is a New Zealand rower and cyclist.Waddell is the daughter of former All Black Alistair Scown and sister of rugby player Hayden Scown...
(athlete) graduated from this school in 1991. Represented New Zealand in rowingRowing (sport)Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
at the 20002000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer OlympicsThe 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. - Laura LangmanLaura LangmanLaura Langman is a New Zealand international netball player. Primarily a midcourt player, Langman is the captain of the New Zealand national netball team – the Silver Ferns, and also captains the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Championship.-Early career:While still a student at Hillcrest...
(sportsperson) Plays for the Silver FernsSilver FernsThe New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern , which is an iconic emblem for many New Zealand sports teams. The Silver Ferns were formed in 1938 as a representative...
, the New Zealand international NetballNetballNetball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
team. Graduated from this school in 2003. - Kimbra Johnson, musician based in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia. Graduated from this school in 2007. - Vinny Jervis (musician and first XV rugby captain) graduated from this school in 2007. Vinny has won a number of national and regional titles on solo tuba. He also captained the Hillcrest High first XV rugby team for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
- Scot Hall (actor and singer) Was chosen to perform in the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Globe production in London 2008. He was also the top scholar of Drama in New Zealand in 2007. Graduated from this school in 2007.
- Tom Chen (debater) graduated from this school in 2008. He was a member of the New Zealand team which won the 2009 World Schools Debating Championship.
- Edward Yuan Wang (scientist), graduated in 2010. Bronze medalist, representing New Zealand in the 2010 International Mathematical Olympiad held in Astana, Kazakhstan.