Linwood College

Linwood College is a co-educational secondary school in Linwood, a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand.

History

Founded in the early 1950s, to cater for the secondary educational needs of a growing population in eastern Christchurch, then Linwood High School became one of New Zealand's larger secondary schools during the 1970s, with a roll of over 1600 pupils, at one point. However, as it also served a relatively low socio-economic area of industrial southeast Christchurch, and promoted sporting achievement alongside academic achievement, the school gained a reputation for being "rough".

Following the introduction of the 1989 Tomorrow's Schools policy, the role declined from about 1500, in 1990, to 775, in 2000. Much of this decline was attributed to the relaxation of school zoning restrictions and the resulting white flight by affluent families within the large south-eastern Christchurch catchment area sending their children to higher decile schools, that had a better academic reputation.

With the appointment of a new principal, Rob Burrough, in 2000, the school undertook a rebranding exercise, changing the name from High School to College, and, consulting with both students and the community, rethought how it taught students. By 2004 the roll had climbed to 1080, academic results were above the New Zealand average and sports participation had noticeably increased.

In 2010, principal Rob Burrough resigned to take up a head-teacher post in Mombasa, Kenya. Margaret Paiti was appointed as the college's new principal in May 2010.

2010-11 earthquakes

Following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, Linwood College was used as a Civil Defence welfare centre. The school hall, gyms and some classrooms were used to accommodate families temporarily displaced by the earthquake.

Linwood College suffered the loss of a Year 11 student in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. School buildings sustained moderate damage in the quake and the college was forced to site-share with Cashmere High School while repairs were undertaken at the Linwood site. Staff and students returned to the Linwood campus in August 2011.

Staff

Former teaching staff have included:

• John Graham - All Black
• Paul Ackerley - Olympic gold medalist, Hockey, 1976
• Brenda Rowberry - Former Silver Fern
• Chris Arthur - Former New Zealand Black Stick

Notable alumni

• Ann Boelee - teacher & New Zealand netball member 1967 winning world cup
• Russ Boon - musician, writer, producer, radio personality
• Sir Kerry Burke - local body politician
• Mike Hosking - TV and radio presenter
• April Ieremia - former Silver Fern and television presenter
• Rodney Latham - New Zealand cricketer
• Fiona Pears - international violinist
• Scribe - rap artist
• Anna Simcic-Forrest - swimmer, Commonwealth Games gold medallist
• Tiki Taane - singer/songwriter; former lead singer of Salmonella Dub
• Brent Todd - rugby league player

References

External links

• Linwood College website