Welcome to Waitakere College!

Waitakere College together with Hon Hekia Parata, Minister of Education (above) congratulates our Principal Mark Shanahan on his NEiTA (National Excellence in Teaching Awards) Cognition Education Excellence in Leadership Award, which was presented to him at Parliament yesterday by Education Minister Hon Hekia Parata. He was one of 8 recipients nation-wide, along with 12 awards for excellent teachers, selected from 620 nominees. “It’s a privilege to be honoured in this way, but this reflects the positive achievements of the school as a whole over the past five years,” said Mark Shanahan.

Waitakere College is a successful, co-educational New Zealand Secondary School located in Henderson in the heart of West Auckland.

The three key elements of the Waitakere Way - Learning, Caring and Respect  - guide our planning to ensure that each student is able to 'be the best they can be'.

Waitakere College was rated 5th of 72 Auckland schools in Metro magazine’s annual ratings for the average proportion of students in Year 11 who gained a Merit or Excellence endorsement in Level 1 exams, 2007 – 2010. This was higher than any other school in West Auckland and second amongst all state schools on the list. See our Winter 2011 newsletter for more details.  Go to What's On - Term News.

Courses on offer cater for the variety of student needs, from local students' learning an international language to international students learning English.

Initiatives for Year 9/10 Students

  • Weekly report cards to update academic progress
  • Gifted and Talented programme 'Shine" for very able students
  • Targeted literacy classes to assist students
  • Accelerated programmes to do NCEA

  • Opportunity to compete in many sporting and cultural activities

Initiatives for Year 11/12/13 students

  • Achievers' Assemblies acknowledging seniors who achieve in their year group
  • After school homework centre with tutors
  • Monitoring of NCEA progress throughout each year to ensure success
  • Gateway programme to apprenticeships and tertiary institutions
  • Leadership opportunities via sports, mentoring and cultural activities

 "Achievement for All".