Newlands College - History

History

Newlands College opened on 3 February 1970 with a starting school roll of 68 students. The foundation principal was Rex Sage, who was also the foundation deputy principal of Tawa College. However, the school was not complete yet, with the land of the site causing trouble for further construction. The first classes had to take place at Raroa Intermediate, in two classrooms. The site itself was finished by April, and on 27 April 1970, students and staff shifted to the modern day Newlands College site at Bracken Road. The first and only permanent building that was present was A block, and was unfinished at the time.

Newlands College was one of the last schools built to the Nelson design, to which most New Zealand state secondary schools of the 1960s had been built. The Nelson design is characterised by its two-storey H-shaped classroom blocks, of which the college has two.

Throughout the years, the college has grown substantially, having 1000 students in 2010. B block was built with similar architecture to A block. C block is substantially smaller, with only two classrooms and a storage room. H block has the school hall and a classroom primarily for drama. D block was also built to accommodate the learning support programme. However, in 2009, the building was demolished and rebuilt, while being renamed to the Learning Support Centre. L Block was built in 2006 for languages and visual arts. The Te Ao Marama is a Whare Kura, primarily for teaching Maori and hosting meetings. There is a large P.E. department building, hosting the largest gymnasium in North Wellington, a mezzanine classroom, a room for meetings and drama performances (formerly the cafeteria), and a cafeteria. The college also has a large administration area and staffroom. There is a pavilion that overlooks the sports fields for classes, meetings and seating for sports events.