Kāpiti College

Kāpiti College is situated at Raumati Beach on the Kāpiti Coast in New Zealand, 45 minutes drive from Wellington City. It was called Raumati District High School when built in 1954, then renamed Kapiti College in 1957. The Kapiti College motto is "Semper Fidelis" which translates to "Always Faithful".

The roll is 1,511 in February 2024, including international students from as far afield as Germany, Brazil, China, Japan and Thailand. Numbers of students at the college increased by 400 in the 2003–2012 period.

Kāpiti College is a Decile 8 school, meaning the majority of its students are from above average socio-economic status. Its students come from a wide range of backgrounds and includes a Māori proportion of 19 percent.

History

In October 1961, the school was officially opened by Lord Cobham.

In 1963 there was a dispute about whether the college's hockey team should play as a part of Horowhenua, or as a part of Wellington due to a boundary change.

In 1970, staff claimed that the college illegally deducted their salaries. A meeting was then held, with approximately one thousand teachers attending, closing the college for the meeting. Onslow College also closed to allow their teachers to attend the meeting. The teachers sent a telegram to the Ministry of Education.

Facilities

The latest addition to the school is Te Raukura ki Kāpiti, a new multi-million-dollar performing arts centre for use by the community and school which opened in February 2020. The facility was opened by Steven Joyce, former student.

Arts

The school has its own radio show on Wellington Access Radio.

Notable alumni

Past students of Kāpiti College include All Blacks players Mark Shaw and Christian Cullen, filmmaker Peter Jackson and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce.

References

External links

• Education Review Office (ERO) reports for Kāpiti College
• School Website