Westlake Boys High School

School

Westlake Boys High School

Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto

Location

Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand

Coordinates| 36°46′36.04″S 174°44′57.98″E﻿ / ﻿36.7766778°S 174.7494389°E﻿ / -36.7766778; 174.7494389
Information
Type| State single-sex boys secondary (Year 9–13)
Motto| Virtute Experiamur
Let Courage Be Thy Test
Established| 1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Ministry of Education Institution no.| 37
Headmaster| Paul Fordham
School roll| 2757[1] (July 2025)
Houses|  Hood
Murchison
Pupuke
Smale
Stanley
Ururoto

Colour(s)|  Green
Red

Socio-economic decile| 9Q[2]
Website| www.westlake.school.nz

Westlake Boys High School (Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto)[3] is a state secondary school for boys in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and Westlake Boys High School on a new site.[4] Serving Years 9 to 13, the college has 2757 students as of July 2025.[1]

In 2025, Paul Fordham, an ex pupil of the school, was appointed as the school's eighth headmaster. He replaced David Ferguson who served as Headmaster for 15 years.

View of the school's main entrance

## Westlake Boys and Girls

[edit]

Physically a few hundred metres apart, Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys engage in a joint annual theatrical production, participate in several joint musical ensembles (including a joint choir, two orchestras, a concert band and a jazz band), and some social dances, among other things. The two schools share a motto – Virtute Experiamur – "Let Courage Be Thy Test" in Latin.

## Enrolment

[edit]

As of July 2025, the school has a roll of 2757 students, of which 252 (9.1%) identify as Māori.[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 398,[5] placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).[6]

## Academic pathways

[edit]

Westlake Boys High School uses the National Certificate of Educational Achievement to assess students. Until 2019, it also offered Cambridge Assessment International Education as an option, but this was phased out from 2016.[7][8]

## Sporting

[edit]

The school's teams compete in all Auckland and North Harbour inter-secondary school competitions leading to regional, national and international championships.[9] In 2008/09, Westlake came second in both the Gillette and Maadi Cups in 2009, in both cases, losing to Hamilton Boys'. [citation needed] In 2025 Westlake Boys won the Maadi Cup.

## Music and performing arts

[edit]

The educational music programme covers performance, composition, analysis, history and aural skills. Along with the option of taking music as a subject, there is also a compulsory Year 9 course, focusing on the appreciation of music and drama in everyday life through theoretical and practical exercises, which runs for multiple weeks throughout the year.[10]

The school has a number of performing groups: a choir ('Voicemale'), a Barbershop Chorus ('Virtutti'), a Concert Band, Stage Band, and Junior Symphonic band. Orchestral groups include the Westlake Symphony, Chamber Orchestra the junior Taharoto Orchestra and the boys' string groups Conchordia and Camerata. The performing groups have won awards at the annual KBB Music Festival (formerly the Auckland Secondary Schools Band and Orchestra Festival or 'ASSBOF'). Some groups, such as the Choralation Choir, which won the platinum award at the Big Sing Finale in 2009, 2010, and 2011 are combined with Westlake Girls High School.[11]

View of the school quad

## Notable alumni

[edit]

Main category: People educated at Westlake Boys High School

### The Arts

[edit]

* David Griffiths (composer)
* Martin Henderson – film, TV and theatre actor
* Don McGlashan – musician, The Mutton Birds and Blam Blam Blam
* Tim Mahon and Mark Bell – founding members of Blam Blam Blam
* Alex Taylor – composer, poet and writer

### Business

[edit]

* A. J. Hackett – popularised bungee jumping
* John Hood – Rhodes Scholar, former CEO of Fletcher Challenge, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland and of Oxford University

### Environment

[edit]

* Winston Cowie
* Stephen King – conservationist

### Journalism

[edit]

* Duncan Garner – television journalist

### Politics

[edit]

* Phil Twyford \- politician[12][13]

### Science

[edit]

* Charles R. Alcock – astronomer, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

### Sport

[edit]

#### Basketball

[edit]

* Thomas Abercrombie
* Jarrod Kenny
* Robert Loe
* Sam Mennenga
* Kirk Penney
* Jack Salt
* Corey Webster
* Tai Webster
* Yanni Wetzell

#### Cricket

[edit]

* Andre Adams – former Black Cap
* Billy Bowden – ICC cricket umpire
* Paul Hitchcock – former Black Cap
* Bevon Jacobs – New Zealand cricketer
* Justin Vaughan – former Black Cap, CEO New Zealand Cricket
* Lou Vincent – former Black Cap (National Cricket Team)
* Willie Watson – former NZ cricketer

#### Football

[edit]

* Robert Ironside – former captain All White
* Neil Jones – former All White
* Tommy Smith – footballer, All Whites

#### Motorsport

[edit]

* Nick Cassidy — New Zealand racing driver, current Formula E driver for Jaguar TCS Racing.[14]

#### Rowing

[edit]

* Michael Brake – 2021 Olympic Gold medallist
* Andy Hay – 1984 Olympic coxswain
* Barrie Mabbott – Olympic Bronze medallist rower
* Mike Stanley – 1984 Olympic rower[15]
* Eric Verdonk – Olympic Bronze medallist rower

#### Rugby league

[edit]

* Frano Botica – former All Black and Kiwi
* Taniela Tuiaki – former Kiwi and West Tigers

#### Rugby union

[edit]

* Finlay Brewis \- current Crusaders rugby player
* Chandler Cunningham-South \- current England rugby player
* Nick Evans – former All Black
* Mike Harris – former Wallaby
* Dillon Hunt – former All Black
* Fine Inisi \- current Tonga rugby player
* Lotu Inisi \- current Tonga rugby player
* Moses Leo \- current Melbourne Storm player
* Luke McAlister – former All Black
* Jock McKenzie \- former Blues rugby player, current Auckland Aces cricket player
* Wayne Pivac – former Wales national rugby union team coach
* Inia Tabuavou \- current Fiji rugby player
* Caleb Tangitau \- current Highlanders rugby player
* Ron Williams – former All Black[citation needed]

#### Sailing

[edit]

* Tom Ashley – Olympic Gold medalist board sailor
* Dean Barker – a skipper of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics
* Chris Dickson – former helmsman of BMW Oracle Racing and had participated in Louis Vuitton Cup
* Hamish Pepper – Navigator of Team New Zealand, has participated in America's Cup 2003 as well as representing New Zealand at Olympics in 1996, 2004, 2008 & 2012

#### Shooting

[edit]

* Malcolm Cooper – double Olympic Gold Medallist and founder of weapons manufacturing company Accuracy International, makers of the Arctic Warfare Magnum rifle

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
2. ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
3. ^ "Westlake Girls' High School".
4. ^ Sparks, Zizi (17 February 2017). "Former Westlake High School students celebrate 60-year reunion". North Shore Times.
5. ^ "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
6. ^ "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
7. ^ "Curriculum Review 2015 | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
8. ^ Nicoll, Andrew. "Westlake Boys High School 2019 Board of Trustees Annual Report" (PDF). Westlake Boys High School.
9. ^ [1] Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ "Arts | Westlake Boys High School". www.westlake.school.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
11. ^ [2] Archived 23 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ "Twyford, Phil". parliament.nz. New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
13. ^ du Chateau, Carroll (26 May 2005). "Cullen serves the kids Keynes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
14. ^ "Motorsport: Teen prodigy changes gear for TRS series". 16 January 2011.
15. ^ "Mike Stanley". Westlake Boys High School. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Westlake Boys High School at Wikipedia's sister projects:

* Media from Commons
* Data from Wikidata

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Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand

Buildings and facilities|

* North Shore Hospital
* The PumpHouse Theatre
* Sentinel
* Shore City Shopping Centre

Geographic features|

* Lake Pupuke
* Rangitoto Channel
* Shoal Bay
* Takapuna Fossil Forest

Infrastructure|

* Auckland Northern Motorway
* Smales Farm busway station

Historic sites|

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* North Shore City Council (defunct)

Schools and organisations|

* Carmel College
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* Westlake Boys High School
* Westlake Girls High School

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* ISNI

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