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Westlake Boys High School
School From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Westlake Boys High School (Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto)[3] is a state secondary school for boys in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and Westlake Boys High School on a new site.[4] Serving Years 9 to 13, the college has 2757 students as of July 2025.[1]
In 2025, Paul Fordham, an ex pupil of the school, was appointed as the school's eighth headmaster. He replaced David Ferguson who served as Headmaster for 15 years.
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Westlake Boys and Girls
Physically a few hundred metres apart, Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys engage in a joint annual theatrical production, participate in several joint musical ensembles (including a joint choir, two orchestras, a concert band and a jazz band), and some social dances, among other things. The two schools share a motto – Virtute Experiamur – "Let Courage Be Thy Test" in Latin.
Enrolment
As of July 2025, the school has a roll of 2757 students, of which 252 (9.1%) identify as Māori.[1]
As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 398,[5] placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).[6]
Academic pathways
Westlake Boys High School uses the National Certificate of Educational Achievement to assess students. Until 2019, it also offered Cambridge Assessment International Education as an option, but this was phased out from 2016.[7][8]
Sporting
The school's teams compete in all Auckland and North Harbour inter-secondary school competitions leading to regional, national and international championships.[9] In 2008/09, Westlake came second in both the Gillette and Maadi Cups in 2009, in both cases, losing to Hamilton Boys'. [citation needed] In 2025 Westlake Boys won the Maadi Cup.
Music and performing arts
The educational music programme covers performance, composition, analysis, history and aural skills. Along with the option of taking music as a subject, there is also a compulsory Year 9 course, focusing on the appreciation of music and drama in everyday life through theoretical and practical exercises, which runs for multiple weeks throughout the year.[10]
The school has a number of performing groups: a choir ('Voicemale'), a Barbershop Chorus ('Virtutti'), a Concert Band, Stage Band, and Junior Symphonic band. Orchestral groups include the Westlake Symphony, Chamber Orchestra the junior Taharoto Orchestra and the boys' string groups Conchordia and Camerata. The performing groups have won awards at the annual KBB Music Festival (formerly the Auckland Secondary Schools Band and Orchestra Festival or 'ASSBOF'). Some groups, such as the Choralation Choir, which won the platinum award at the Big Sing Finale in 2009, 2010, and 2011 are combined with Westlake Girls High School.[11]
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Notable alumni
The Arts
- David Griffiths (composer)
- Martin Henderson – film, TV and theatre actor
- Don McGlashan – musician, The Mutton Birds and Blam Blam Blam
- Tim Mahon and Mark Bell – founding members of Blam Blam Blam
- Alex Taylor – composer, poet and writer
Business
- A. J. Hackett – popularised bungee jumping
- John Hood – Rhodes Scholar, former CEO of Fletcher Challenge, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland and of Oxford University
Environment
- Winston Cowie
- Stephen King – conservationist
Journalism
- Duncan Garner – television journalist
Politics
- Phil Twyford - politician[12][13]
Science
- Charles R. Alcock – astronomer, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Sport
Basketball
Cricket
- Andre Adams – former Black Cap
- Billy Bowden – ICC cricket umpire
- Paul Hitchcock – former Black Cap
- Bevon Jacobs – New Zealand cricketer
- Justin Vaughan – former Black Cap, CEO New Zealand Cricket
- Lou Vincent – former Black Cap (National Cricket Team)
- Willie Watson – former NZ cricketer
Football
- Robert Ironside – former captain All White
- Neil Jones – former All White
- Tommy Smith – footballer, All Whites
Motorsport
- Nick Cassidy — New Zealand racing driver, current Formula E driver for Jaguar TCS Racing.[14]
Rowing
- Michael Brake – 2021 Olympic Gold medallist
- Andy Hay – 1984 Olympic coxswain
- Barrie Mabbott – Olympic Bronze medallist rower
- Mike Stanley – 1984 Olympic rower[15]
- Eric Verdonk – Olympic Bronze medallist rower
Rugby league
- Frano Botica – former All Black and Kiwi
- Taniela Tuiaki – former Kiwi and West Tigers
Rugby union
- Finlay Brewis - current Crusaders rugby player
- Chandler Cunningham-South - current England rugby player
- Nick Evans – former All Black
- Mike Harris – former Wallaby
- Dillon Hunt – former All Black
- Fine Inisi - current Tonga rugby player
- Lotu Inisi - current Tonga rugby player
- Moses Leo - current Melbourne Storm player
- Luke McAlister – former All Black
- Jock McKenzie - former Blues rugby player, current Auckland Aces cricket player
- Wayne Pivac – former Wales national rugby union team coach
- Inia Tabuavou - current Fiji rugby player
- Caleb Tangitau - current Highlanders rugby player
- Ron Williams – former All Black[citation needed]
Sailing
- Tom Ashley – Olympic Gold medalist board sailor
- Dean Barker – a skipper of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics
- Chris Dickson – former helmsman of BMW Oracle Racing and had participated in Louis Vuitton Cup
- Hamish Pepper – Navigator of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup 2003 as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics in 1996, 2004, 2008 & 2012
Shooting
- Malcolm Cooper – double Olympic Gold Medallist and founder of weapons manufacturing company Accuracy International, makers of the Arctic Warfare Magnum rifle
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References
External links
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