Whakatāne High School

Whakatāne High School is a secondary school located in the town of Whakatāne, New Zealand. As of 2022, the school has a roll of 1067 students and aims to offer every student an equal opportunity to succeed with strong values around responsibility, respect and achievement. Whakatāne High School has a 100-year history as a co-educational public high school, opening in 1920 as Whakatane District High School, becoming a full high school in 1950.^[3] The school held its centennial on 2–3 April 2021, postponed from 2020.^[4]

Whakatāne High School
Location
Goulstone Road Whakatāne New Zealand
Coordinates	37.9621°S 176.9854°E / -37.9621; 176.9854
Information
Funding type	State
Motto	Kia Whakatane Au I Ahau
Opened	1920 (As Whakatane District High School)
Ministry of Education Institution no.	144
Principal	Martyn Knapton
Years offered	9–13
Gender	Co-educational
Number of students	1202[1] (July 2025)
Hours in school day	6.5 hours (including form time)
Houses	Kauri, Rimu, Totara, Matai
Colour(s)	Black   Gold
Slogan	Challenging Students to Achieve
Socio-economic decile	4K[2]
Website	www.whakatanehigh.school.nz

History

Whakatāne High School is over a century old, opening in 1920 as Whakatane District High School, becoming a full high school in 1950. In 1973, as the population of Whakatāne neared 10,000, Trident High School was opened.^[5]

Facilities and buildings

The school consists of a field, gymnasium (a separate gymnastics building operated by the local Gymnastics Club lies next to it), school & student office, Careers Centre, the Barclay Hall, a library (named in November 2011 after New Zealand author Margaret Mahy, who went to Whakatāne High School for a period of time), and numerous buildings split into blocks including: N block (Mainly used for Math, and Computer sciences), T Block (Mainly used for Technology), B Block (Mainly for English, Social Studies and related subjects), A block (Multiple subjects including Languages and Health), C Block (Mainly for art and related subjects) and L Block (Mainly for science and related subjects).

• 
  The N block
• 
  The L block
• 
  The T block
• 
  The main office viewed from Ghoulstone rd.

Students

As of the 1st of July 2023, the total school roll was 1067 students. 62.76% of the students are European / Pākehā, 46.33% are Māori, 2.53% are Pacific, 4.98% identify as Asian, 0.87% are classified as MELAA, and 1.22% are registered as Other.^[6] There are 39 international students as of the first of July, 2023.

Houses

Students at Whakatāne High School are split into one of four houses. Each house is named after a tree that is native to New Zealand. Students compete in school-related sporting and cultural events to win points for their house. At the end of the year, one house is named champion for that year. The houses are represented by a colour and are listed below:

• Matai  
• Kauri  
• Totara  
• Rimu  

Notable alumni

Main category: People educated at Whakatane High School

• Jack Brodrick, New Zealand rugby league international, Māori All Black, NZ Māori rugby league team player
• Lisa Carrington, Canoe Sprint World Champion, Olympic gold medalist
• Richard James Conway, New Zealand rugby union player
• Karen Hanlen, Oceania mountain bike champion
• John Vernon Head QSM, anti-landmines activist
• Toni Jeffs, New Zealand swimmer
• Jozef Klaassen, Member of Nederlands Olympic Eight at 2012 London Games
• Jaimee Lovett, New Zealand canoeist
• Margaret Mahy, author
• Benji Marshall, rugby league player
• Noel Mills, former New Zealand rower, Olympic silver medalist
• Ian Shearer, former National MP^[7]
• Brett Sinkinson, rugby union player
• Paul Steel, New Zealand squash player
• Sir Alan Stewart, founding vice-chancellor, Massey University
• Jon-Paul Tobin, New Zealand windsurfer
• Nathan Twaddle, world champion rower and Olympic bronze medalist
• Wybo Veldman, former New Zealand rower, Olympic gold medalist
• Stacey Waaka, New Zealand rugby union player