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Wakatipu High School
Address
47–49 Red Oaks Drive Frankton Queenstown 9300 New Zealand
Coordinates	45°01′33″S 168°44′55″E / 45.0257°S 168.7487°E / -45.0257; 168.7487
Information
Type	State Co-Ed Secondary
Motto	Latin: Ad Alta (Reach for your heights.)
Established	1937
Ministry of Education Institution no.	374
Chairman	Adrian Januszkiewicz
Principal	Oded Nathan
Staff	142
Grades	9–13
School roll	1454 (August 2024)
Capacity	1800
Houses	Arthur   Duncan   Fox   Hay   Mackenzie
Socio-economic decile	10Z
Website	www.wakatipu.school.nz

Wakatipu High School is a state coeducational secondary school located in Queenstown, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 (ages 13 to 18). A total of 1454 students attend the school as of August 2024. As of 2024 it is the only public high school in Queenstown.

Property

The school was originally located at 68 Fryer Street in central Queenstown. It was relocated to a new site at 47/49 Red Oaks Drive, Frankton during the 2017/18 summer holidays. Development of the new Wakatipu High School cost approximately $50 million and took place over the course of 2017. The school was developed with a controversial open plan design with the intention of encouraging constructive communication between students. Further development of the school was undertaken in 2020, with an extension of the school being completed in mid-2022 and a second gymnasium being completed at the start of 2023.

In 2023, the maximum student capacity at the site was said to be 1,800. In 2024, it was forecast that continuing growth in the school roll would require that within three years, the 17 temporary classrooms that had been removed from the Frankton site following completion of property upgrades would need to be returned, unless a site for a second school could be obtained.

Curriculum

Wakatipu High School uses National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) based assessments; the “credits” earned from these exams go towards a student’s NCEA qualification. Students can gain points through their "Ākonga Passport" which recognises students for exemplifying the school's values. They can gain points to achieve bronze, silver and gold levels of the Passport.

Education Review Office reports

In 2024, the Education Review Office reported favourably on the progress that the school had made over the past three years, particularly in reading and writing in the junior school. Disparities in learning outcomes between boys and girls had reduced, and outcomes for Māori and Pacific students had improved.

Houses

Wakatipu High School uses a house system with different colours: Arthur House (blue), Duncan House (black), Fox House (red), Hay House (green), and Mackenzie House (orange). Within these houses are a dean and student leaders. The houses are named after historical figures from the region.

Notable alumni

• Cool Wakushima – New Zealand snowboarder
• Harriet Miller-Brown – alpine skier and champion slalom skier
• Alice Robinson – alpine skier and champion slalom skier
• Matty McLean – TV personality

References

1. ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
2. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
3. ^ "Ministry's removed $8m classrooms from WHS may need to return". Crux. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
4. "School gets set for the big move". 18 November 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
5. Williams, Guy (9 February 2019). "School extension likely next year". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
6. "Queenstown's new Wakatipu High School weeks away from finish". Stuff. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
7. Lippman, Peter C.; Byers, Terry. "Classroom design should follow evidence, not architectural fads". The Conversation. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
8. Chandler, Philip (13 June 2019). "Massive high school expansion approved". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
9. ^ Roxburgh, Tracey (6 February 2023). "New school, WHS campus possibilities: head". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
10. "Curriculum and Timetable". WHS. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
11. Chandler, Philip (6 May 2024). "Wakatipu High School scores highly". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
12. "House Competition". WHS. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
13. Roxburgh, Tracey (4 March 2021). "Our Cool's a golden girl - Mountain Scene". www.scene.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
14. "Class Act: Where are they now?". Otago Daily Times Online News. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
15. "Alice Robinson". New Zealand Olympic Team. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
16. "Alpine ski racer Alice Robinson reflects on her first Olympics and looks to 2022". Stuff. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
17. Hudson, Daisy (6 September 2018). "TV presenter over the moon at Pride Week homecoming". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

External links

• School website

• Secondary schools in Otago
• Buildings and structures in Queenstown, New Zealand