Otumoetai College

Otumoetai College is a high school in Tauranga, New Zealand, situated in the Bay of Plenty province. Otumoetai College is a co-ed school revered for its strength in the sports of Volleyball, Hockey and Rowing. Otumoetai College was first opened and established in 1965 and had a student roll number of 206 students ranging from year 9 to year 13. Today the school roll is counted at approximately 1,970 students. “Otumoetai College is predominantly European with a significant Maori student population. Asians and others comprise 5% of the total student population.” (AA Education Network, 2008). The current Principal is Dave Randell who has been with Otumoetai College since 2001. Otumoetai College is the largest co-ed Secondary School in the Bay of Plenty district, other surrounding Secondary Schools in the Tauranga area include; Tauranga Girls College, Tauranga Boys College, Mount College, Aquinas College and Bethlehem College. Otumoetai is claimed to stand for “peaceful waters” implied by the peaceful surroundings and estuary within the Otumoetai area (Farthing, 2005 p1). Otumoetai College can be found on Windsor Road, Otumoetai, Tauranga, within a 500 meter radius of both Otumoetai Intermediate and Bellevue Primary School. At present the staffing numbers within Otumoetai College include 196 teachers, administration workers and caretakers. Senior Leadership within Otumoetai College is currently led by the Principal Dave Randell and the Deputy Principals, Bruce Farthing, Ricky Feutz, Phillipa Woodward, and Jude Brown (Otumoetai College, 2008a).