Western Springs College is a co-educational state secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It teaches students from years 9 to 13 and is located near both Western Springs Park

Western Springs

Western Springs is a residential suburb and park in the west of the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the west of the city centre, situated to the north of State Highway 16....

 and Auckland Zoo

Auckland Zoo

Auckland Zoo is a zoological garden in Auckland, New Zealand, situated next to Western Springs park not far from Auckland's central business district. It is run by the Auckland City Council with the Auckland Zoological Society as a supporting organisation....

. The school was originally part of Seddon Memorial Technical College but was moved to the current Western Springs site in circa 1960.

History

The school was originally called Seddon High School following its separation from Seddon Memorial Technical College.
Nesian Mystik

Nesian Mystik

Nesian Mystik was a New Zealand Hip-Hop/R&B group formed in 1999. Their cultural backgrounds unite a remarkable diversity of Polynesia by bringing together Cook Island, Tongan, Samoan and Maori ancestry...

 the famous New Zealand band was formed there.

Uniform

The school is one of few in the Auckland area to have no formal uniform. The school sees the development of sensible attitudes towards dress and appearance as part of the education process and tidy dress standards are enforced.

Houses

The school consists of five houses:

• Atea (Red) meaning Wind or Air
• Moana (Blue) meaning Water
• Whenua (Green) meaning Land
• Kapura (Yellow) meaning Fire
• Oranga (Purple) meaning Living- Former Rumaki

Enrolment and donation

The school operates an enrolment zone which entitles students residing within the zone to enrol at the school. Students from outside the zone may be admitted through a ballot system. A voluntary donation to cover costs is requested at the time of enrolment.

Rumaki and Pacific Unit

The Rumaki and Pacific units provide a specialised learning environment for both Maori and Pacific Island students. The units work under spoken and written language immersion and are focused on integrating culture and customs into daily learning.

Academic achievement

The results from the school's 2005 NCEA

NCEA

NCEA can stand for:*National Certificate of Educational Achievement, New Zealand's main secondary school qualification*National Council for Educational Awards, Ireland*National Catholic Educational Association, United States...

examinations placed it as the top decile 7 school for NCEA Level 1. The school is also traditionally strong in debating, with both teams in the final of the 2005 Auckland Senior Debating competition representing Western Springs College.