Tēnā koutou! Welcome to Ashburton College.
As Tumuaki Principal, it is my honour to lead Ashburton College, a vibrant co-educational secondary school that sits at the heart of Mid Canterbury. With 1450 students, we are the largest secondary school in the region, and our size is matched by the immense diversity and opportunity we offer.
We proudly blend academic opportunity and high achievement with a rich tapestry of over 50 different cultures, creating a truly unique and exciting learning environment. We host the largest proportion of Pasifika students in the South Island, and our cultural heart is our beautiful whare, Te Whare O Tawhaki, which has welcomed our community since 1997.
Ashburton College is a friendly, safe, and spacious environment guided by our core values: Quality, Pride, and Respect.
Our strategic vision is ‘Individual Excellence in a supportive learning environment.’ This vision serves as our compass, guiding us as we accommodate the rapidly changing needs of our community, from embracing our growing cultural diversity over the past decade to developing innovative learning pathways that connect directly with Mid-Canterbury’s evolving sectors.
You will find a constant buzz around the College, driven by a packed calendar of academic, cultural, and sporting events. Our strategic goals – Our People, Our Place, and Our Purpose – ensure that all initiatives inter-relate, guaranteeing holistic support and challenge for every student.
I invite you to explore our website further and see for yourself the wonderful culture we have built. It would be my honour to show you around the College in person at any stage.
Simon Coleman
Tumuaki | Principal
Ashburton College was founded in 1965 as a merger of the Ashburton High School and Hakatere College. The College celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015.
The College has its own whare, Te Whare O Tawhaki, which was opened in 1997, and is now the cultural heart of the College.
The choice of the Phoenix as the central part of the crest symbolised the birth of the new from the old, with the intention of retaining all the best aspects and traditions of the former schools – the motto ‘Resurgamus – to rise again’ was in harmony with the Phoenix design.
Our People – Strengthen partnerships that make a difference for our Students
Given the significant change in cultural backgrounds in recent years, we have a focus on our people. This goal involves growing the connections with whanau and the various cultural groups in our wider community to engage in what NZ school culture is, growing understanding of how our school functions, and increasing partnerships for student pathways with our business communities. Much like the Phoenix rising, we are having to reframe how we engage and connect with our students and community as this shift in cultural demographics is growing in Mid-Canterbury.
These initiatives will allow our students to embrace the connection with others and the community, and understand the values needed for life when they leave the College.
Our Place – Create an environment that welcomes, embraces and celebrates all
Our College now needs to reflect our people and our goal around this is to have an environment, opportunities and practices that reflect our people – this has meant both physical, visible changes alongside celebrating the diversity within our school across students and staff.
These initiatives will allow our students to understand, value and celebrate the different cultures; have a sense of belonging; and know who they are and where they come from.
Our Purpose – Provide a learning environment that is learner-centred and future-focused, which inspires our Students
The goals of people and place have influenced our purpose as we focus on initiatives of meaningful pathways and high-quality teaching that reflect the needs and cultural capital of our students.
These initiatives will allow our students to learn by utilising their cultures; engage and have success in learning; and connect to the pathways they are passionate about
Our measures of the success of these initiatives will be through student and whānau voice, focus groups, data, walkthroughs and student engagement, passion and tracking in their learning and future pathways.
Our People, our Place and our Purpose and the initiatives that align to these areas, will give every student of our kura the belief in themselves, celebrate diversity and grow their cultural identity to achieve individual excellence.
