Wakatipu High School

Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18). A total of 1422 students attend the school as of July 2025.^[1] As of 2024^[update] it is the only public high school in Queenstown.^[3]

Wakatipu High School
Location
47–49 Red Oaks Drive Frankton Queenstown 9300 New Zealand
Coordinates	45.0257°S 168.7487°E / -45.0257; 168.7487
Information
Type	State Co-Ed Secondary
Motto	Latin: Ad Alta (Reach for your heights.)
Established	1937
Ministry of Education Institution no.	374
Chairman	Adrian Januszkiewicz
Principal	Oded Nathan
Staff	142
Grades	9–13
School roll	1422 (July 2025)[1]
Capacity	1800
Houses	Arthur   Duncan   Fox   Hay   Mackenzie
Socio-economic decile	10Z[2]
Website	www.wakatipu.school.nz

Wakatipu High School, at the former Fryer Street site, in 1980.

Enrolment

As of July 2025, the school has roll of 1422 students, of which 138 (9.7%) identify as Māori.^[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 415,^[4] placing it amongst schools whose students have few socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 8 and 9 under the former socio-economic decile system).^[5]

Property

The school was originally located at 68 Fryer Street in central Queenstown. It was relocated to a new site at 47/49 Red Oaks Drive, Frankton during the 2017/18 summer holidays.^[6] Development of the new Wakatipu High School cost approximately $50 million and took place over the course of 2017.^[7] The school was developed with a controversial open plan design with the intention of encouraging constructive communication between students.^[8][9] Further development of the school was undertaken in 2020,^[10] with an extension of the school being completed in mid-2022 and a second gymnasium being completed at the start of 2023.^[11]

In 2023, the maximum student capacity at the site was said to be 1,800.^[11] In 2024, it was forecast that continuing growth in the school roll would require that within three years, the 17 temporary classrooms that had been removed from the Frankton site following completion of property upgrades would need to be returned, unless a site for a second school could be obtained.^[3]

Curriculum

Wakatipu High School uses National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) based assessments; the “credits” earned from these exams go towards a student’s NCEA qualification. Junior students (year 9 and 10) can gain badges through their "Ākonga Passport"^[12] which recognises students for exemplifying the school's values. They can gain 30 points to achieve bronze, 60 points to achieve silver and 100 points to gain the gold level of the Ākonga Passport.

Education Review Office reports

In 2024, the Education Review Office reported favourably on the progress that the school had made over the past three years, particularly in reading and writing in the junior school. Disparities in learning outcomes between boys and girls had reduced, and outcomes for Māori and Pacific students had improved.^[13]

Houses

Wakatipu High School uses a house system with different colours: Arthur House (blue), Duncan House (black), Fox House (red), Hay House (green), and Mackenzie House (orange). Within these houses are a dean, an assistant dean, and 4-5 student leaders.^[14] The houses are named after historical figures from the region.

Notable alumni

Main category: People educated at Wakatipu High School

• Cool Wakushima – New Zealand snowboarder^[15]
• Harriet Miller-Brown – alpine skier and champion slalom skier^[16]
• Alice Robinson – alpine skier and champion slalom skier^[17][18]
• Matty McLean – TV personality^[19]
• Brianne West – entrepreneur^[20]