Hillcrest High School (New Zealand)

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Hillcrest High School
Motto	Circumspice (Look Around You)
Type	Secondary (Year 9-13)
Year established	1972
Address	Masters Avenue, Hillcrest, Hamilton
Principal	K. S. Whiting
School roll	1527
Socio-economic decile (10 is high)	9
Ministry of Education Institution no.
Website	www.hillcrest-high.school.nz

Hillcrest High School is a coeducational state secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, located in the south-east Hamilton suburb of Silverdale.

The school is known best for its academic success. In 2005 Hillcrest students received a total of 54 scholarships, the sixth highest number of scholarships of any high school in the North Island. Seven Hillcrest students in recent years have received Top Scholar Awards from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

School participation also extends to extra-curricular academic activities. In both 2004 and 2005 it was the winner of the Waikato Univeristy Mooting Competition and in 2005 a Hillcrest student, Charlotte Roose, was the first New Zealand student to attend the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC. Hillcrest also won the National Monetary Policy competition organised by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in 2004. In addition to regional debating success, 2005 student Lena Skandera was selected in both the Waikato and National Secondary School debating teams; she was also selected to the Robertson Scholars Program at Duke University as an only winner of the scholarship from New Zealand.

In the centre of the school is a two-story library and study centre. The centre includes a teaching area, two computer areas, an senior study area and a variety of fiction and non-fiction books. The centre is open before and after school and during lunchtime, providing access to the New Zealand Herald, a vertical file archive of newspaper articles, a number of youth and current events magazines and computer reference databases.

- Involvement in cultural activities is an important part of Hillcrest High School. Annual events include the school production and an International Concert that reflects the multiculturalism of the school. The school has social interest groups, including United Nations Youth, Amnesty International, Students Against Drunk Driving, Greenpeace and a Eastside Pentecostal Christian Group.

- The school also has a guidance and careers department and medical facilities. Guidance counselling and medical treatment is provided to all students when required. Career advice is available at lunchtime and regular presentations are made by educational institutions. The Anti-Harassment Team, a student group of trained harassment mediators, is selected each year as part of the school's anti-harassment strategy.