Francis Douglas Memorial College

Francis Douglas
Memorial College
Address
201 Tukapa Street,
Westown,
New Plymouth,
New Zealand
Coordinates 39°04′56″S 174°03′12″E / 39.0821°S 174.0533°ECoordinates: 39°04′56″S 174°03′12″E / 39.0821°S 174.0533°E
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 802[1] (March 2015)
Socio-economic decile 8
Website fdmc.school.nz

Francis Douglas Memorial College (or FDMC) is an all-boys state integrated Catholic school with boarding facilities 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 Vernon Francis 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.

Sporting

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, rowing, and athletic events. Annually, the school plays a rugby union match against major cross-town rivals New Plymouth Boys' High School, this being one of the major events on the school calendar. Teachers such as Peter Ingram, Tim Stuck, Steve Simpson have taught sport to the students and there have been notable sporting students such as All Blacks Conrad Smith and Beauden Barrett

Music

Francis Douglas Memorial College has a music department where bands develop their talents. Many students have performed and done well in the annual Smokefree Rockquest competition, with bands from the College winning the last two Regional Finals. Students have performed at the G-TARanaki Guitar Festival[2] and were shown guitar skills by Uli Jon Roth.[3]

Maori culture

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.[4]

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.[4]

Colours

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.

Boarding

The school has boarding facilities for years 9-13. The boarding hostel is called La Salle house, in recognition of the heritage of the school. The hostel has a dorm for each year level.

Houses

Notable alumni

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Directory of Schools - as at 7 April 2015". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  2. ↑ "G-TARanaki 2010 Presents: Youth Rock". 12 August 2010. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  3. ↑ "Gtaranaki 2010 - Sky Academy". gtaranaki.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Inter-house haka a success". Taranaki Daily News (Fairfax New Zealand). 29 October 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.