Mount Aspiring College

Secondary school in Wānaka, New Zealand

44°41′14″S 169°08′09″E / 44.6871°S 169.1359°E / -44.6871; 169.1359InformationTypeState co-ed secondary (Year 7–13) with senior boarding facilitiesMottoEnjoy SuccessEstablished1986Ministry of Education Institution no.533ChairmanIan Hall^[1]PrincipalNicola JacobsenSchool roll1,295 – February 2024^[2]Socio-economic decile10Z^[3]Websitewww.mtaspiring.school.nz

Mount Aspiring College is a state coeducational secondary school in Wānaka, New Zealand. It was founded in 1986 after the division of Wānaka Area School into separate primary and secondary schools. The college, though normally a day school, operates a hostel beside the school grounds for 30 Year 13 students.

Enrolment

Mount Aspiring College is naturally zoned by the school's isolation (the nearest alternative secondary school is Cromwell College, 55 kilometres away in Cromwell), therefore does not need to operate an enrolment scheme. The school's effective service area extends north to Makarora, east to Tarras and Queensberry, south to Cardrona, and west to the Southern Alps.^[4]

At the August 2015 Education Review Office (ERO) review of the school, the school had 789 students enrolled. The school roll's gender composition was 51% male and 49% female. The ethnic composition was 88% European (Pākehā), 7% Māori, 3% Asian, and 2% Other.^[5]

At the September 2019 Education Review Office (ERO) review of the school, the school had 1078 students enrolled, including 32 international students. The ERO report found

Mt Aspiring College’s performance in achieving valued outcomes for its students is: Developing.^[6]

Principals

1989–1998: Michael (Mike) Allison
1998–2008: Maurice (Maurie) Jackways
2008–2020: Wayne Bosley
2020–2021: Dean Sheppard (acting)
2021–present: Nicola Jacobsen

Hostel Program

The College operates a year 13 boarding programme and intakes 30 students each year, the programme is notable for its intensive outdoor pursuits program, which runs alongside daily time-tabled classes.^[7]

The Mount Aspiring College Village consists of five custom-built flats, constructed in 1996.^[8] Each flat is named after notable landmarks in the local area; Arawhata- named after Arawhata River, Avalanche- named after Avalanche Peak (New Zealand), Cascade- named after Cascade Saddle (Located in Mount Aspiring National Park), Liverpool- named after Liverpool Hut, and Rob Roy- named after Rob Roy Glacier

Notable alumni

Ellesse Andrews (born 1999), Olympic track cyclist^[9]
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (born 2001), Olympic snowboarder^[10]

References

^ "SCHOOL BOARD".
^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
^ "eLearning Schools Search". Te Kete Ipurangi. Retrieved 19 January 2013.. Searching for Mount Aspiring College, and then selecting "Show Transport Entitlement Zone" will show the effective area.
^ "Mount Aspiring College Education Review". Education Review Office. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
^ "Mt Aspiring College Education review". Education Review Office. 5 September 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
^ "MAC Hostel Information". MAC Hostel Information. 15 May 2014.
^ Logan, Kristine; Thomlinson, Margaret (2005). 1 2 5, Look Alive! A Celebration of 125 Years of Schooling in the Wanaka District. Wānaka, N.Z.: NK Pub. ISBN 9780473104832.
^ "From Kerikeri to Invercargill: Where New Zealand's Tokyo Olympians went to school". Stuff. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
^ du Plessis-Allan, Heather (22 February 2018). "Olympic medal a win for Mt Aspiring College". Newstalk ZB. Retrieved 6 August 2021.