Sacred Heart College, Auckland

Sacred Heart College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a Catholic, Marist College set on 60 acres (24 ha) of land overlooking the Tamaki Estuary in Glen Innes.

Sacred Heart College (Auckland)
Address
250 West Tamaki Road,
Glen Innes,
Auckland,
New Zealand
Coordinates36.8686°S 174.8720°E / -36.8686; 174.8720
Information
TypeState-integrated
Day & Boarding
MottoConfortare Esto Vir
("Take Courage And Act Manfully")
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1903; 118 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no.59
PrincipalSteve Dooley[1]
Years713
GenderBoys
School roll1306[2] (March 2020)
Socio-economic decile8P[3]
Websitesacredheart.school.nz

History

The college was opened in 1903 in Ponsonby, by the Marist Brothers. It is the oldest continuously existing Catholic boys' secondary school in Auckland although it has changed its location, moving to its current Glen Innes site in 1955. St Paul's College was founded on the old Sacred Heart College site in that year. The Marist Brothers continue to be a presence in the school community, with both teaching and maintenance of school grounds undertaken in part by the Brothers. The headmaster role at the college was served solely by Marist Brothers up until 1993, when Brendan Schollum took the role; the college's first lay principal. In 2003, the college held its centennial celebrations, which included the opening of a new administration building, technology block and Year 7 and 8 Department, and in 2005 it celebrated 50 years of being at the Glen Innes site. At the end of 2006, Jim Dale became the third lay headmaster at Sacred Heart College, taking over from Phillip Mahoney. Current Principal, Stephen Dooley, started in 2019 was previously Deputy Principal at St Peter's College, Epsom.

Education

Sacred Heart currently offers NCEA as its national qualification standard. In the 2007 academic year, the school's board of trustees and management team began an Academic Review. This will look at the schools current assessment process and performance, and whether the school should look at alternative courses of education, such as Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) and the International Baccalaureate (IB).

Sport

Sacred Heart offers a wide range of sporting options to its pupils, though it is traditionally a school with a very strong rugby culture. Sacred Heart won four titles in the 2006 season, with its 3A, 3B, 5A and 5B teams victorious. The Under-15 Open team won the North Island Catholic Boys Under 15 Tournament, held at Francis Douglas Memorial College in that year also. The Sacred Heart 1st XV remains the only team never to have been relegated from the 1A grade. The 2011 1st XV was one of the more successful teams in college history and went unbeaten in the 1A competition round robin and won the Moascar Cup, Fitzpatrick Kirckpatrick cup, Hibernian Shield and the Marist Quadrangular Cup. Also in 2016 and 2017 the 1st XV reached the final of the Auckland 1A competition, losing on both occasions. Other Sports include: Football, Cricket, Water Polo, Tennis, Cycling, Basketball, Hockey, Badminton, Rowing, Swimming and Athletics.

For 2007, a new Sports Institute has been opened for boys in years 7–10. Currently, the only sports on offer for this academy are Cricket, Football, Rugby union, Tennis and Water Polo, though this is likely to expand to include other sports in subsequent years.

Houses

Photo of the school's year 7 and 8 and technology blocks.

The houses of Sacred Heart College are named after either famous people in the Catholic and Marist community in New Zealand, or important figures in the school's history. The six houses are:

  • Basil

Basil House is named after Brother Basil, who taught at the college for over 50 years, and was also the college's first principal.

  • Coolahan

Coolahan House is named after the landowner who donated the land for the original site of the college in Ponsonby, now the site of St. Paul's College.

  • Lenihan

Lenihan House is named after the Bishop of Auckland in 1903, who saw the need for a Catholic boys' school in the area and was a driving force in Sacred Heart's foundation.

  • Marcellin

Marcellin house is named after Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist order.

  • Pompallier

Pompallier house is named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier (1802–1871), the first Catholic vicar apostolic and bishop to visit and be located in New Zealand (arrived 1838); first Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1848–1868).

  • Stephen

Stephen House is named after Brother Stephen Coll FMS, a well known former teacher and Marist Brother at the college.

There is also a seventh 'House', Leonard House, named after Brother Leonard Tobin FMS, which is home to the senior boarding students in the college hostel.

Boarding hostel

The boarding hostel is home to roughly 160–170 boarders from all over New Zealand and from overseas.

Controversies

Bullying

  • In 2020, it was criticised by New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman for failing to manage several bullying complaints.[4]

Discrimination

Sacred Heart College has also been criticised by New Zealand's Chief Ombudsman for declining in 2018 to offer an enrolment place to an autistic boy, using the excuse that he was "not Catholic enough."[5] After an investigation, it was found that Sacred Heart College had ranked other non-Catholic prospective students higher than the autistic boy, raising questions around whether the school was actively discriminating against disabled persons.[5]

Concerns for student safety

In 2020, a threat was made against students of Sacred Heart College.[6]

Notable alumni

The official alumni group is the Sacred Heart College Old Boys Association. Some of these well-known men include:

Public service

The Arts

Broadcasting

Religion

Sport

Cricket

  • Matthew Quinn – Cricket player NZ under 19, Auckland, New Zealand A, Essex
  • Glen Phillips[13] - NZ Black Caps, Auckland Aces

See also

  • List of schools in New Zealand

References

Bibliography

  • A.G Butchers, Young New Zealand, Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd, Dunedin, 1929.
  • Zealandia, 1939–1989.
  • Pat Gallager, The Marist Brothers in New Zealand Fiji & Samoa 1876-1976, New Zealand Marist Brothers' Trust Board, Tuakau, 1976.
  • E.R. Simmons, In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 - 1980, Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982.
  • Thomas J. Ryder, Following all Your Ways, Lord - Recollections of Fr Thomas J. Ryder (transcribed and compiled by Margaret Paton) (Privately published, no date – perhaps early 1990s).
  • Tony Waters, Confortare, A History of Sacred Heart College, Auckland 1903 - 2003: a Marist Brothers secondary school, Sacred Heart College, Auckland, 2003.
  • Nicholas Reid, The Life and Work of Reginald John Delargey Cardinal, Catholic Diocese of Auckland/Pindar, Auckland, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.