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 | |
| Coordinates | 36.8686°S 174.8720°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State-integrated Day & Boarding |
| Motto | Confortare Esto Vir ("Take Courage And Act Manfully") |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1903; 118 years ago |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 59 |
| Principal | Steve Dooley[1] |
| Years | 7–13 |
| Gender | Boys |
| School roll | 1306[2] (March 2020) |
| Socio-economic decile | 8P[3] |
| Website | sacredheart.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
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
- John Belgrave – Chief Ombudsman
- Brian Donnelly – Member of Parliament
- James Henare – Maori leader
- Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara – former Prime Minister of Fiji and President of Fiji
- Sir Anand Satyanand – Governor-General of New Zealand
- Peter Fa'afiu - diplomat, global director Amnesty International (first of Pacific descent)[7]
The Arts
- K O Arvidson – poet and academic
- Mike Chunn – musician
- Dan Davin – author, Rhodes Scholar
- Dave Dobbyn – musician
- Tim Finn – musician
- Neil Finn – musician
- Toa Fraser – writer and film director
- Jeffrey Grice – musician
- M K Joseph – poet and novelist
- Michael King – author, historian
- Brendhan Lovegrove – comedian
- Ivan Mercep – Architect (Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to architecture; awarded the Gold Medal of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 2008)
- Ian Morris – musician
- Vincent O'Sullivan – writer
- Tim Radford – journalist
- John Cowie Reid – founder of the Mercury Theatre, professor of English, writer
- Paolo Rotondo – actor, screenwriter
- Peter Urlich – musician
Broadcasting
- Dominic Bowden – TV presenter
- Pat Brittenden – broadcaster[8]
Religion
- Reginald John Delargey (1914–1979) – Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland (1957–1970); Eighth Catholic Bishop Of Auckland (1970–1974); Fifth Archbishop of Wellington (1974–1979) (Cardinal).
- Denis Devcich – director of the Mother of God Brothers[9]
- Patrick James Dunn (b. 1950) – Eleventh Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1994–present)
- John Patrick Kavanagh (1913–1985) – Fourth Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1949–1985).
- John Mackey (b. 1918) – Ninth Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1974–1983)
- Denzil Meuli (Pierre Denzil) (1926–2019) – priest of the Diocese of Auckland, writer, former editor of the Zealandia and a leading New Zealand traditionalist Catholic
- Owen Noel Snedden (1917–1981) Auxiliary Bishop of Wellington (1962–1981); first Auckland-born priest to be ordained a bishop.
Sport
- Mark Anscombe – rugby union coach; currently head coach of the Canadian national team
- Cyril Brownlie – rugby player, All Black
- Kieran Crowley – rugby player, All Black; coach of the Canadian national team
- Percy Erceg – rugby player, All Black and New Zealand Maori selector[10]
- Sean Fitzpatrick – rugby player, All Black captain
- Greg Davis – Wallaby captain
- Craig Innes – rugby player, All Black
- Wilfrid Kalaugher – teacher and athlete
- Solomone Kata – Tongan rugby league player for the New Zealand Warriors
- Mata'afa Keenan- rugby player, Samoan international[11]
- Niko Kirwan – professional football player
- Pelimani Fisi'iahi – rugby player, Tongan international[12]
- Nili Latu – rugby player, Tongan international
- Finau Maka – rugby player, Tongan international
- Isitolo Maka – rugby player, All Black
- Paul MacDonald – Olympic kayaker and surf lifesaver
- Morrie McHugh – rugby player, All Black
- Kevin O'Neill – rugby player, All Black
- Sonny Parker – rugby Player, Welsh international
- Xavier Rush – rugby Player, All Black
- Hoskins Sotutu - rugby Player, All Black
- JJ Stewart – former All Blacks coach
- Logan Swann – rugby league player
- Taniela Tupou - rugby player, Australian international
- Carlos Tuimavave – New Zealand Warriors
- Pat Walsh – rugby player, All Black
- Ben Afeaki – rugby player, All Black
- Amasio Valence – rugby player, New Zealand 7's
- Loni Uhila – rugby player
- Kurtis Haiu – rugby player
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
- St Peter's College newsletter No 6, 11 April 2019 (Retrieved 30 April 2019)
- "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- "Top school slammed by Ombudsman: Mum logged 90 incidents of bullying". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- Wynn, Kirsty (6 September 2019). "Top school broke law when declining 10-year-old boy as 'not Catholic enough'". NZ Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- "Threat made against Sacred Heart College students - police at school". NZ Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/115012706/pukekohe-man-first-pacific-islander-take-top-spot-at-amnesty-international
- also educated at St Peter's College.
- Mother of God Brothers (retrieved 24 April 2018)
- Percy Erceg at AllBlacks.com
- "World Cup - Team Guide: Samoa". 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015.
- "Pelimani Fisi'iahi". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/89461132/aces-coach-says-new-black-caps-batsman-glenn-phillips-always-been-talented-ahead-of-his-agegroup
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.