| Francis Douglas Memorial College |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 201 Tukapa Street, Westown, New Plymouth, New Zealand |
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| Information | |
| Type | State integrated, boys only, secondary with boarding facilities (years 7-13) |
| Motto | Christo Duce 'With Christ as our leader' |
| Established | 1959 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 175 |
| Principal | Mr. Martin Chamberlain |
| School roll | 741 (2011) |
| Socio-economic decile | 8 |
| Website | fdmc.school.nz |
Francis Douglas Memorial College (or FDMC) is an all-boys state integrated Catholic school located in Westown, New Plymouth, New Zealand. The college was founded in 1959 under the leadership of the De La Salle Brothers, a religious order of brothers based on the teachings of St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. The name of the school is dedicated to the memory of Father Francis Vernon Douglas, a missionary priest who was killed while doing missionary work in the Philippines during the Second World War. The school educates approximately 760 boys, 130 of whom are boarders. The 50th Jubilee of Francis Douglas Memorial College was held on Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2009.
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80% of students participate in at least one sport. The most popular sport at the school is rugby union, other sports include cricket, basketball, soccer, and athletic events. Annually, the school plays a rugby match against rival school New Plymouth Boys' High School, this being one of the major events on the school calendar. Teachers such as Peter Ingram have taught sport to the students and there have been notable sporting students such as Conrad Smith.
Francis Douglas Memorial College has a music department where bands develop their talents. Students have performed at the G-TARanaki Guitar Festival[1] and were shown guitar skills by Uli Jon Roth.[2]
The school runs cultural activities, such as the Annual Inter-house Haka Competition, and school camping trips to a marae.
The first inter-house Haka Competition was in 2010. Students register their names for the activity and each House performs their Haka with the school as an audience. The winning house is chosen by a judge who is a popular figure from New Plymouth.[3]
The school has a school Haka written by an ex-student Hemi Sundgrem which is about the founders of the school, Francis Douglas and the De La Salle Brothers.[3]
The rugby jersey most identifiable as that of Francis Douglas Memorial College is royal blue with a thick red strip and thin gold trim strips across the chest. While this has been popularly adopted as the distinctive rugby strip of the school, it is only used in lower grades of competition.