Rangiora High School
Rangiora High School crest
Location
East Belt Rangiora 7400 New Zealand
Coordinates	43°17′50″S 172°35′56″E / 43.29725°S 172.59876°E / -43.29725; 172.59876
Information
Type	State
Motto	Latin: Lux cum Amore (Enlightenment with Friendship)
Established	28 January 1884 (1884-january-28)[1]
Ministry of Education Institution no.	312
Chairman	Simon Green
Principal	Bruce Kearney
Teaching staff	117[2]
Employees	167+[2][3]
Years offered	9–13
Gender	Co-educational
Age	12 to 18
School roll	1,652[4] (February 2024)
Hours in school day	8:40 am–3:05 pm
Houses	Six   Hillary   Lydiard   Mansfield   Ngata   Rutherford   Sheppard
Colour(s)	Dark teal and gold
Slogan	Proud of our past, focused on our future.
Socio-economic decile	9Q[5]
Alumni	Notable alumni of Rangiora High School
Website	www.rangiorahigh.school.nz

Rangiora High School is a state co-educational secondary school located in Rangiora, New Zealand. Established in 1881 by an act of parliament^[6] and opened in 1884, the school has a roll of 1,652 students from years 9 to 13 (approx. ages 12 to 18) as of February 2024, making it the fifth-biggest school in the South Island.^[4]

Enrolment

Rangiora High School operates an enrolment scheme to help curb roll numbers and prevent overcrowding. The school's home zone, in which students residing are automatically entitled to be enrolled, covers much of the central Waimakariri District and the southern Hurunui District.^[7] Students residing outside the zone are sometimes accepted, as roll places allow in accordance with the enrolment scheme order of preference.

Curriculum

Rangiora High School has developed a junior curriculum based on the New Zealand Curriculum. In Years 9 and 10 students study English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Health & Physical Education. They also select elective subjects, which can include Arts subjects, Technology subjects and Language subjects (out of French, Japanese, and Te Reo Māori).

In Years 11 to 13, students complete the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the main secondary school qualification in New Zealand. Levels 1, 2 and 3 of NCEA are usually completed in Years 11, 12 and 13 respectively, although students can choose subjects from different levels depending on their progress through the NCEA level system. In Year 11, students study English, Mathematics and four full-year elective subjects. Students in Year 12 study six full-year elective subjects. Students in Year 13 study five full-year elective subjects, with study for an additional four periods per week.

Rangiora High School has a school farm, which is used to teach land-based studies. Set up in 1910, it started out running stock and growing crops,^[8] before being officially opened in November 1930 by Lord Bledisloe, the then Governor-General.^[9]

Co-curricular

School houses

Rangiora High School is divided into six houses, each containing approximately 300 students and 25 staff. Houses also provide a basis for inter-house competition in sport and cultural activities. The houses are named for New Zealanders who have achieved distinction in their respective areas.^[10] They are:

• Hillary (red), named after mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary
• Lydiard (orange), named after athlete Arthur Lydiard
• Mansfield (yellow), named after author Katherine Mansfield
• Ngata (green), named after politician and lawyer Sir Āpirana Ngata
• Rutherford (blue), named after scientist Lord Ernest Rutherford
• Sheppard (white), named after suffragist Kate Sheppard

Staff

Rangiora High School has over 100 teaching staff and more than 50 support staff as of 27 August 2021^[update].^[2][3]

Principals

Since its opening in 1884, Rangiora High School has been led by the following principals:

• 1884–1886: Rev. Henry E. Tuckey^[11][12]
• 1886–1893: Mr Thomas W. Rowe^[11][13][14]
• 1893–1898: Rev. G. I. Sim^[11][15][16]
• 1899–1917: Mr Thomas R. Cresswell^[11][17][18]
• 1917–1948: Mr James E. Strachan^{[11][19][20][21]}
• 1949–1963: Mr Joe Moffat^[11][22]
• 1964–1978: Mr Tom Penny^[11]
• 1979–1989: Mr Colin Macintosh^[11][23]
• 1989–2002: Mr Peter Allen^[23][24]
• 2003–2016: Mrs Peggy Burrows^[25][26][27]
• 2017–2022: Ms Karen Stewart^[28]
• 2022–present: Mr Bruce Kearney^[29]

Notable alumni

Notable former students of Rangiora High School include:^[30]

• Todd Blackadder – rugby union player and coach, All Black (1995–2000, including captain 1997–2000)^[31]
• Sir Malcolm McRae Burns CBE KBE – agricultural scientist, principal of Lincoln College (later Lincoln University) and President of the Royal Society of New Zealand^[32]
• Ron Chippindale – aviation accident investigator, Chief Inspector of the Office of Air Accident Investigations (1975–90) and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (1990–98)^[33]
• Emma Cropper – Newshub journalist^[34]
• Berkeley Dallard – Under-Secretary of the Department of Justice, Controller-General of Prisons^[35]
• Margaret Dalziel
• Brian Ford – rugby union player, All Black (1977–79)^[36]
• Mary Goulding – basketballer^[37]
• Tony Hawke – Canterbury Rams basketball player^[38]
• Gemma Hazeldine – netball player^[39][40]
• Hon Rodney Hide QSO – politician, former ACT Party leader, Cabinet Minister, MP for Epsom 1996-2011^[41]
• Graeme Higginson – rugby union player, All Black (1980–83)^[42]
• The Most Reverend Bishop Edward Joyce – Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch (1950-1964)^[30]
• Tutehounuku "Nuk" Korako – politician^[43]
• Ian MacRae – rugby union player^[44]
• Brigadier Reginald Miles CBE MC – military leader, prisoner of war^[45]
• Fletcher Newell – rugby union player, All Black^[46]
• Guy Newton – flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force
• Angie Petty (née Smit) – athlete^[47]
• Tim Price – New Zealand representative eventer^[48]
• Gabi Rennie – footballer^[49]
• Ian Sinclair – test cricketer (1956)^[50]
• Nick Smith MP – politician, cabinet minister, MP for Tasman/Nelson (1990–2020)^[51]
• Barry Thompson – rugby union player, politician^[52]
• Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan ONZ (née Tirikatene) – politician, cabinet minister, MP for Southern Maori 1967-96^[53]
• Henare Uru – MP for Southern Maori (1922–28)^[54]
• Dr J. Morgan Williams – Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (1997-2007)^[55]
• Donna Wilkins (née Loffhagen) – Silver Fern player and Tall Fern captain^[56]

Giant redwood

A giant redwood tree is in the grounds of the school. It was planted in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and has now grown into a very large tree.^[57]