Rutherford College, Auckland

Rutherford College (formerly named Rutherford High School from 1961 to 2001) is a co-educational state secondary school on the Te Atatū Peninsula, Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after New Zealand-born nuclear physicist and chemist Ernest Rutherford.

Rutherford College
Location
Kotuku Street, Te Atatū Peninsula, Auckland, New Zealand
Coordinates	36.8513°S 174.6465°E / -36.8513; 174.6465
Information
Type	State co-ed secondary (Year 9–13)
Established	5 February 1961; 64 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no.	40
Principal	Gary Moore
School roll	1527[1] (July 2025)
Socio-economic decile	5M[2]
Website	www.rutherford.school.nz

History

Rutherford High School opened in 1961, with Eric Clark as the first principal. The school rapidly developed as the farms and orchards of Te Atatū were developed into housing.^[3] The school was the first in New Zealand to offer drama and dance as school subjects.^[3]

Eric Clark was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours,^[4][5] and retired as principal the following year.^[6]

Enrolment

As of July 2025, Rutherford College has a roll of 1527 students, of which 340 (22.3%) identify as Māori.^[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 460,^[7] placing it amongst schools whose students have average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 5 and 6 under the former socio-economic decile system).^[8]

Curriculum

Rutherford College Information Commons

Rutherford College is a New Zealand Qualifications Authority accredited co-educational Year 9–13 State Secondary school. It caters for students from year 9 to year 13, as well as providing adult education, special education and night courses. It offers well-qualified, professional staff are very successful in challenging students to achieve academic success in national assessments. The school teaches core subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science, and helps senior students pass NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement). As well as core subjects, specialist subjects such as Chinese Mandarin, Japanese, Māori and German are taught as a second language, as well as aviation, environmental science and biochemistry, arts, physical education, technology, accounting and economics.^[9]

Tradition

The College encourages student participation in a wide range of extracurricular activities, again challenging students to reach their full potential in all areas.

• The school celebrates annually, Rutherford Day, to commemorate the history of the school.
• The official school song is ‘Me Hui Hui’,^[10][11] written by Pita Sharples^[12]
• Rutherford Colleges Kapa Haka group 'Te Rōpu Kapa Haka o Te Kōtuku' is also the top Mainstream group in the Auckland region.

Notable staff

• Chris Carter (born 1952), politician
• Cliff Edmeades (born 1941), principal (1989–2006)^[13]
• Jack Elder (born 1949), politician
• Dame June Mariu (born 1932), community leader^[14]

Notable alumni

Main category: People educated at Rutherford College, Auckland

Sport

• Ken Carrington – rugby union player, All Black (1971–72)^[15]
• Robbie Hunter-Paul – rugby league player^[16]
• Darren Liddel – weightlifter^[17]
• Henry Paul – rugby union and rugby league player^[18]
• Yvonne Willering – netball player and coach^[19]

The arts

• The La De Da's – 1960s/70s rock band, including Kevin Borich, first formed at Rutherford High^[20]
• Oscar Kightley – TV personality, actor (Bro' Town, Sione's Wedding)^[21]
• Pio Terei – TV personality, actor and comedian^[22]

Public service

• Simon Bridges – Former Minister of Transport and former National Party leader and MP for Tauranga. (Also the former Head Boy of the school)^[23]
• Dame Cindy Kiro – children's commissioner, academic, governor-general^[24]
• Tim Shadbolt – Mayor of Invercargill, former mayor of Waitemata City (one of the founding students of the school)^[25]
• Rawiri Waititi – Current Member of Parliament for Waiariki (New Zealand electorate), Co-Leader of Te Pāti Māori.^[26]