| Verdon College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Rockdale Road Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Integrated co-educational secondary |
| Motto | Rely on God |
| Established | 1982 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 408 |
| Headmaster | Jarlath Kelly |
| Chaplain | Fr. Martin Flannery |
| Grades | Years 7-13 |
| Enrolment | 578 (2011) |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic, Marist Brothers, Dominican Sisters |
| decile rating (10 is high) | 5 |
| Website | verdoncollege.school.nz/ |
Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 13 (ages 11–18). The college is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1896–1918).
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Verdon College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school was created after an amalgamation in 1981 of Saint Catherine's College (single-sex high school for girls operated by the Dominican Sisters) and Marist College (single-sex high school for boys operated by the Marist Brothers). It was built on former farmland at the eastern boundary of Invercargill and named after Bishop Verdon. Since the schools growth parts of the school are located on what used to be Cargill High and Te Wharekura O Arowhenua.
The school opened up a new multi-million dollar block in 2008 called the Bishop Verdon Block, mainly for the year seven and eight students. It also contains two computer suites, a library, a science laboratory and a study atrium. It was built on the site of the former Cargill High and part of a Māori language Invercargill school - Te Wharekura O Arowhenua at the same time the school also purchased a gymnasium.[1]
When the Education Review Office last assessed the school in 2007 they had a roll of 618 students with 51% male and 49% female. The school's ethnic composition contained NZ European/Pākehā 77%, Māori 16%, Pacific Islanders 3%, Other European 2% and Other 2%. The College offers a broad range of educational opportunities for student achievement in the areas of sport and culture as well as a diverse academic curriculum. The College's National Certificate of Educational Achievement results are above average in level 1 and 2.