Palmerston North Boys' High School
Palmerston North Boys' High School is a traditional boys school located in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Location
Palmerston North Boys' High School has a campus located on Featherston Street between Rangitikei and North Streets in the central city. There are secondary entrances to the school on Wellesbourne Street, Ivanhoe Terrace, Edgeware Road and North Street. The rear boundary is shared with Queen Elizabeth College.Students and school culture
Most of the school's approximately 1,700 students are "day boys" from Palmerston North and surrounding townships such as Ashhurst, Levin, and Feilding. Around 170 boys are housed in an onsite boarding hostel – College House.The school's mission statement is to "develop educated men of outstanding character".
History and controversy
In 1902, Palmerston North High School was established as a co-educational secondary school with an initial roll of 84 students. The first classes were held at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church Sunday School hall. In 1920, Palmerston North High School was split into two single-sex schools: Palmerston North Girls' High School and Palmerston North Boys' High School.In a 1990 case, M & R v Syms and the Board of Trustees of Palmerston North Boys High School NZAR 705, the plaintiffs challenged the steps taken by the Rector in suspending both students for consumption of alcohol, and later by the Board expelling M. McGechan J gave judgment for the plaintiffs holding that the Rector's discretion as to whether to suspend the pupils "is not to be ignored, as if non-existent. Nor is it to be fettered by a Principal through self imposed rules permitting no exceptions". The Judge further found that the Board did not exercise its mind on the ultimate discretion whether or not to uplift suspension or procure removal.
In September 2006 the school had an outbreak of tuberculosis in which a substantial number of students contracted a latent form of tuberculosis, as well as a small number of students who had active tuberculosis. However this outbreak was resolved and the school has since been running normally.
The then Rector, Tim O'Connor, was awarded a Woolf Fisher Fellowship and the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award in 2007.
Rectors
The school has had ten rectors since 1902:Period | Rector |
1902 | William Gray |
1902–1918 | John E. Vernon |
1919–1946 | John Murray |
1947–1954 | O. J. Begg |
1954–1963 | Edward S. Craven |
1963–1970 | Percy A. Muirhead |
1971–1987 | Eric D. P. White |
1987–2002 | D. A. Syms |
2002–2012 | T. M. O'Connor |
2012–present | D. M. Bovey |
Facilities
The school has the following facilities:These include:
- Library
- ICT computer suites
- Specialised technology/workshop block
- College House – Boarding facilities for approximately 180 students
- War Memorial Gallery and archive room
College House
College House provides seven day boarding for students that attend Palmerston North Boys' High School. Seven day boarding means that students can remain in the hostel during the weekends. Parents apply for weekend leave to allow their sons to go home in any given weekend.
Teaching Blocks
The school has 12 main teaching blocks. These include:- H Block - Drama & English
- M Block - Music
- E Block - Commerce & Social Studies
- S Block - Science
- G Block
- C Block
- A Block
- B Block
- T Block - Technology
- F Block - Art
- P Block
- D Block
Cultural
- Ian Colquhoun Memorial Hall – 1700 seat auditorium
- The Speirs Centre
- Little Theatre – 80 seat theatre
Sporting
- Two multiuse gymnasiums
- Full sized basketball court
- Weights room
- Heated indoor swimming pool
- Two Rugby fields
- Football field
- Three artificial cricket wickets and a grass wicket
- Cricket training nets
- Astroturf all-weather tennis and hockey courts
- Two sports pavilions
- Grandstand
Clubs
The clubs names and colours are as follows:
Murray Club, also known as College House, is composed of the school's boarding students.
The Clubs compete in sports and codes, including team sports, individual sports, and whole club activities, such as Road-Race and Marching competitions. For each code the clubs are ranked first to last, with the winning club gaining one point, and the loser gaining six. The club with the fewest points at the end of the school year wins the Shand Shield.
Sports
The school has experienced success nationally in sports such as football, cycling, badminton, squash, basketball, hockey and rugby.The rugby union 1st XV plays in an all-white strip. Other rugby teams from Boys' High are likely to play in blue and white hooped jerseys, similar to Auckland or St Kentigern College.
Notable alumni
Sport
Cricket
- Jamie How – Black Caps
- Adam Milne – Black Caps
- Jacob Oram – Black Caps
- David O'Sullivan – Black Caps
- Victor Pollard – Black Caps and All White
- Mathew Sinclair – Black Caps
- Ian Smith – Black Caps and commentator
- Derek Stirling – Black Caps
- Ross Taylor – Black Caps
- George Worker – Black Caps
- Bryan Yuile – Black Caps
Cycling
- Jesse Sergent – Olympic bronze medalist
- Simon van Velthooven- Olympic bronze medalist
Football
- Stu Jacobs – All Whites, New Zealand Olympic coach
- Steven Old – All Whites
- Jarrod Smith – All Whites
- Alex Rufer – All Whites
- Adrian Elrick – All Whites
Hockey
- Nick Wilson – Black Sticks
Kayaking
- Ian Ferguson – Olympic gold medalist
- Ben Fouhy – Olympic silver medalist
Motor Racing
- Brendon Hartley – 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship
- Jono Lester – Japanese Super GT
- Chris Pither – V8 Supercars
Rugby
- Kurt Baker – IRB Sevens player, Manawatu and Taranaki representative
- Josh Bradnock – Hurricanes
- Francis Bryant – Manawatu Turbos
- Craig Clare – Bay of Plenty
- Aaron Cruden – All Blacks
- Jason Eaton – All Blacks
- Hamish Gard – Canterbury
- Emosi Koloto – Manawatu, Wellington and Tonga
- Johnny Leota – Highlanders
- Lifeimi Mafi – Munster
- Andre Taylor – New Zealand Maori
- Brent Thompson – Hurricanes
- Grant Webb – Newport Gwent Dragons
- Craig Wickes – All Blacks
- Ma'afu Fia – Highlanders
- Doug Tietjens – Highlanders
- Ben Funnell – Crusaders
- Hadleigh Parkes – Scarlets, Southern Kings, Welsh Grand Slam Winner.
- Jason Emery – Manawatu Turbos, Highlanders
- Jade Te Rure – Manawatu Turbos, Edinburgh
- Liam Squire - All Blacks, Highlanders, Tasman Mako
- Mark Finlay – All Blacks
- Ngani Laumape – All Blacks, Hurricanes, Manawatu Turbos
- Dean Budd - Italy, Benetton
- Jackson Hemopo - All Blacks, Highlanders, Manawatu Turbos
Rugby League
- Emosi Koloto – New Zealand Kiwis
- Ngani Laumape – New Zealand Warriors, Hurricanes, Manawatu, All Blacks
Golf
- Craig Perks – former PGA tour golfer
Politics and public service
- Harold Barrowclough, Chief Justice of New Zealand
- Douglas Carter, National MP representing the Raglan electorate
- Trevor de Cleene, Labour MP representing the Palmerston North electorate
- Gaven Donne, Chief Justice of Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu
- Jonathan Hunt, Speaker of the House and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
- Major-General Brian Poananga, Chief of the General Staff, New Zealand Army
- Grant Smith, Mayor of Palmerston North.
Television
- Shane Cortese – NZ theatre and TV actor
- Peter Land – UK theatre and TV actor
- Hamish McKay – NZ television presenter
- Richard Wilkins – television presenter
- Jed Brophy – TV and film actor – Lord of the Rings
- Clarke Gayford – Fisherman and TV personality
- Jeremy Corbett - TV presenter - Comedian
Other
- H. W. Gretton – poet, lyricist, teacher, journalist, diarist and soldier
- Fred Hollows – ophthalmologist
- Bob McDowall – freshwater fish scientist
- Colin Webster-Watson – artist
- Guthrie Wilson – novelist and educator
- Gregor W. Yeates – scientist
- Simon Moutter - CEO of Spark NZ