Freyberg High School

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

title: "Freyberg High School" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["schools-in-palmerston-north", "secondary-schools-in-manawatū-whanganui"] topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyberg_High_School" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox school"]

FieldValue
nameFreyberg High School
native_nameTe Kura o Te Pou Hōia
seal_imageFull Colour Crest of Freyberg High School, Palmerston North, New Zealand, with bevelling.jpg
mottoVirtute et Honore
postcode4414
coordinates
schooltypeState co-educational
established1955
MOE200
principalGraeme Williams
colours█ Blue
█ Gold
mascotSalamander
decile5M
addressFreyberg Street
cityPalmerston North
stateManawatū-Whanganui
years_taught9–13
roll()
homepage
::

| name = Freyberg High School | native_name = Te Kura o Te Pou Hōia | seal_image = Full Colour Crest of Freyberg High School, Palmerston North, New Zealand, with bevelling.jpg | motto = Virtute et Honore | postcode = 4414 | coordinates = | schooltype = State co-educational | established = 1955 | MOE = 200 | principal = Graeme Williams | colours = █ Blue
█ Gold | mascot = Salamander | decile = 5M | address = Freyberg Street | city = Palmerston North | state = Manawatū-Whanganui | years_taught = 9–13 | roll = () | homepage =

Freyberg High School () is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Roslyn in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Freyberg High School is named for hero of both world wars, Lord Bernard Freyberg, who is known for his service in the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War and later service commanding the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the Second World War. Freyberg served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Opening in 1955 as the city's fourth state secondary school, Freyberg High School is now one of the largest schools in Palmerston North, with a roll of students as of , behind Palmerston North Boys' High School and Palmerston North Girls' High School. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Freyberg_High_School_Entrance.jpg" caption="Main entrance to Freyberg High School"] ::

The school is located at the end of Freyberg Street, Palmerston North and is bordered by Skoglund Park on the east and Ross Intermediate School on the west. To the north are the netball courts of Vautier Park. Also present is the Freyberg Community Pool, which is open to the public for leisure.

History

The school was founded in 1955 and named for World War II hero and former Governor General, Bernard Freyberg. His name is reflected not only in the name of the school, but also of the school's gymnasium, Lord Freyberg Memorial Gymnasium. In addition, the school's mascot is the salamander, which was Freyberg's nom de guerre during the First World War. The school's yearbook, the Salamander, also adopts this name. The name given to him by Māori, Te Pou Hōia, is also reflected in the Māori name for the school.

Like most New Zealand state secondary schools built in the mid-1950s, Freyberg High School is of Henderson-type construction, with long single-storey classrooms blocks of timber construction interconnected by a central spine. Additional classroom facilities have been built over the years to aid in the growing student numbers.

In 1993, Russell Trethewey took on the post of Principal. By his retirement and replacement by Michael McMenamin in 2004, the school roll had reached over 1200. At the end of 2008, McMenamin returned to New Plymouth Boys' High School after five years at Freyberg High School. He was replaced as Principal by long-serving Deputy Principal Peter Brooks.

In 2005, the school celebrated its 50th Jubilee and in 2015, celebrated its 60th Jubilee.

In October 2022, Brooks retired as Principal after more than a decade in the role. He was replaced by Whangaparaoa College deputy principal Graeme Williams.

In March 2024, the school attracted media attention after several students staged a haka (war dance) Ka Mate during a visit by Associate Education Minister David Seymour to protest against the Government's proposal to slash the free school lunch programme Ka Ora, Ka Ako and perceived anti-Māori policies. One student waving the National Māori flag also spat near the feet of Seymour. In response, Principal Graeme Williams condemned the students' behaviour as "totally unacceptable" and stated that those responsible would be subject to disciplinary procedures. Following a 7,000-strong petition supporting the students, Williams announced that no disciplinary action would be taken against the students involved in the protest. Instead, he confirmed the school would work with the local iwi (tribe) Ngāti Ruanui Tumu Whakaae, the Ministry of Education, board of trustees, its Māori department and students to develop restorative processes to address the incident.

Enrolment

As of , Freyberg High School has roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori.

As of , the school has an Equity Index of , placing it amongst schools whose students have socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to decile 4 under the former socio-economic decile system).

Arts

Dance

Freyberg High School regularly competes in the Dance NZmade interschool competition in both regional and national levels, winning the regional final in 2018 and again reaching the national finals in 2019.

Music

Freyberg High School is renowned for its musical groups, with many reaching regional and national finals in choral and orchestral competitions. Choral group Bella and the Fellas has won regional awards at the Manawatū-Whanganui Big Sing every year since 2017. Female barbershop choir Miss Demeanor has also had national acclaim, reaching the Barbershop Harmony National Finals in 2019.

School structure

Class structure

Freyberg High School works along the vertical structure with whānau groups which includes Year 9 through to Year 13 along house lines. The teacher of the whānau group is in the same house as his or her students.

Prior to 2002, there were horizontally structured tutor groups in which there was only one year level per group. Likewise, these groups were based on houses, with all students being in the same house. Before 2001, there was a mixture of houses within one tutor group.

In 2016, coaching classes were introduced to support students for the whole five years they attend the school. Students are taught beneficial skills such as time management, planning goals, career paths and study advice. The classes are sorted into individual year levels with one 'coach' who monitors the students throughout their journey from Year 9 to Year 13. It is held almost every week and replaces the whānau group time slot on Wednesdays.

House system

For the purposes of school structure and intraschool competition, Freyberg High School is divided into four houses of roughly equal size. All students belong to one of the houses. Each house has a name relevant to the region and has reference to Te Rauparaha; the names are as follows:

Facilities of the School

Freyberg High School offers a range of facilities for its students.Freyberg High School

  • Sports Academy
  • Music Academy
  • Dance Academy
  • Drama Academy
  • Musical Theatre Academy
  • Russell Trethewey Performing Arts Centre
  • Craig Centre – Special Education block
  • Deaf Education Unit
  • Teen Parents' Unit
  • Rumaki – Māori Immersion Classes
  • Covered Heated Swimming Pool (Freyberg Community Pool)

Notable staff

Notable staff, past and present include:

Notable alumni

Main article: People educated at Freyberg High School

Politics

  • Jacqui Dean – former television and radio host, now National MP for Otago (2005–2008) and Waitaki (2008–)
  • Darien Fenton – Labour List MP (2005–2014)
  • Steve Maharey – former Labour MP for Palmerston North (1990–2008), Vice-Chancellor of Massey University, Palmerston North (2009–2017)

Sport

Entertainment

Notes

References

  1. (29 November 2013). "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education.
  2. "Freyberg High School – About us".
  3. (14 March 2024). "Student spits near David Seymour during visit to Palmerston North High School". [[Radio New Zealand]].
  4. (15 March 2024). "ACT leader David Seymour says students failed at tikanga after spitting at his feet". [[Newshub]].
  5. (19 March 2024). "Freyberg High School's David Seymour haka: Thousands sign letter supporting students". [[Radio New Zealand]].
  6. "School Equity Index Bands and Groups".
  7. "Freyberg High School – Dance".
  8. (2018-09-18). "Freyberg High School students dance their way to win".
  9. "Dance NZmade Interschool Dance Competition Programme – National Teams Programme".
  10. (2019-07-03). "Manawatu-Whanganui TBS results".
  11. (2017-06-26). "Winter Festival large scrum ready to draw the crowds".
  12. (2018-06-24). "Manawatu/Whanganui The Big Sing Awards 2018".
  13. (29 June 2023). "Palmerston North to the West End – Blood Brothers star Delia Hannah".
  14. (5 June 2014). "New-look Globe has award-winner role".
  15. (13 March 2012). "New mayor offers district heart and soul".
  16. "Utikere, Tangi – New Zealand Parliament".
  17. "Dean, Jacqui – New Zealand Parliament".
  18. "Fenton, Darien – New Zealand Parliament".
  19. "Maharey, Steve – New Zealand Parliament".
  20. [http://www.3news.co.nz/RugbyWomenssevenssquadnamed/tabid/415/articleID/63785/cat/70/Default.aspx Rugby: Women’s sevens squad named]
  21. [http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/black-ferns-name-fresh-tour-squad-2015060311 Black Ferns name fresh tour squad] 3news.co.nz {{dead link. (June 2023)
  22. Matthews, Chris. (1990). "David D'Ath remembered".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

schools-in-palmerston-northsecondary-schools-in-manawatū-whanganui