Ngaruawahia High School


Ngaruawahia High School is a state co-educational school situated in Ngāruawāhia, New Zealand. The school was opened in 1963 and the current principal is Mr. Chris Jarnet.
The school typically hosts a Year 9–13 roll which fluctuates between 150 and 250 students each year and also provides learning opportunities to adult students.

Academic

The school offers NCEA courses to senior students and allows some students to study certain subjects by enrolling with The Correspondence School. The school is also affiliated with foreign student exchange programs. Ngaruawahia High School has signed up to the Te Kotahitanga programme, intended to improve the academic performance of Maori students.

Sports

The New Zealand football club Ngaruawahia United was formed in 1968 and is made up primarily of the teenagers attending the secondary school.

Ngaruawahia regatta

The school embraces the local regatta, a traditional perseverance of New Zealand's history and Māori culture. An event is held every year in March on the Waikato River.

Controversies

In March 2010, a 14-year-old student at the school, Bronwyn Ormbsy-Ward, was assaulted by at least three girls. The attack happened outside school grounds, and video footage was wildly circulated. After viewing the footage, Bronwyn's mother laid a complaint with police. In August 2011, a 17-year-old and her friend were refused use of school toilets at interval, after finding all other toilets in the school locked. They were also denied use of staff room toilets. Upon returning to the staff room to 'beg' to use the toilets, they were told "there's a bush out there."
Principal Robyn Roa, who introduced the strict policy, later apologised. The girl's mother, who is writing a complaint to the school's board, said that an apology was not enough, calling the staff 'immature' and 'pathetic'.

Recent history