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Pakuranga College
 Pakuranga College is a co-educational secondary school in east Auckland, New Zealand. The college is named after the suburb it is located in, Pakuranga. The school emblem is the pegasus and the motto "Caelum Certe Patet".[3] The principal is Billy Merchant, as of 2024.[4] HistoryThe school was built on part of an old dairy farm that was known for its swampy soil in winter. The school initially opened on 7 October 1961 by Ronald Algie.[5] The founding principal was Kenneth Rae with an initial roll of 312 students and 17 staff members.[6] PrincipalsIn total, the school has seen 8 principals: Kenneth Rae was the head of the college till 1967, taken over by Ernest Rive. From 1978, Stan Seager was the principal. The school then saw leadership from Pamela Stone from 1987 to 2003. Bali Haque was principal from 2003 to 2006. Prior to being principal, Haque was formerly president of the Secondary Principal's Association and also was principal at Rosehill College.[7] He then went on to be the Deputy Chief Executive of NZQA.[8] After Haque, Heather McRae, who was Associate principal under Haque, became principal of 2006 to 2009. McRae left to be principal of Diocesan School for Girls and was replaced by Michael Williams from Aorere College.[9] In June 2024, Michael Williams left to become a Leadership Advisor at the Ministry of Education.[10] The current principal is Billy Merchant. RibenaAs part of a school science project in 2004 at Pakuranga College, two 14-year-old school girls (Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo) discovered that Ribena, a blackcurrant fruit juice drink sold in 100 ml ready-to-drink containers contained very little Vitamin C, contrary to advertising for the product. Approaches by the two teens to the company did not resolve the issue but the matter was publicised on national consumer affairs television show Fair Go and came to the attention of the Commerce Commission (a government funded 'consumer watch-dog'). The commission's testing found that Ribena contained no detectable vitamin C. On 27 March 2007, GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty in an Auckland District Court to 15 charges relating to misleading conduct, and was fined $217,000.[11][12] School buildingsPakuranga College has traditionally named its blocks of classrooms after past principals and staff. This is evident in all the principals from Mr Rae to Mr Williams having classroom blocks or other buildings named after them:
There are a number of other buildings throughout the school, given generic names. House systemThe students of Pakuranga College are randomly divided into six different houses (called Whānau) named after New Zealand native trees. Each Whānau is represented by a colour and mascot. Although the students are not physically separated into these houses, it acts a system of administration.[14] Whānau each contain 14 Whānau groups and are headed by a Whānau Leader and Assistant Whānau Leader (deans of the house). Each Whānau group is made up of around 30 students from years 9 to 13, and is headed by a Whānau group teacher. The only time students are in house groups on a daily basis is through Whānau groups. Students are in their Whānau groups for a brief period from Monday to Thursday every week. This is for pastoral support of students such as attendance and the daily notices of co-curricular activities. Students also participate in school events in their Whānau. Such events include the school swimming sports, athletics day and other inter-house competitions including Whānau Arts Challenge.
Notable alumni
ControversyIn late 2024, Pakuranga College had announced plans to bar Year 13 pupils from wearing mufti in 2025, citing safety concerns.[18] This change faced opposition, particularly due to the short notice and financial concerns relating to the cost of a new uniform. After a Change.org petition reaching over 1,000 signatures, the ban was lifted and the ban was postponed until 2026. References
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