St Peter's College, Gore

Last updated

St Peter's College
St Peter's College (Gore) Crest.jpg
Address
St Peter's College, Gore
121 Kakapo Street,
Gore,
New Zealand
Coordinates 46°06′26″S168°55′28″E / 46.1072°S 168.9245°E / -46.1072; 168.9245
Information
TypeCo-educational, Secondary (Year 7–13) with boarding facilities
MottoCharity Fulfils the Law
Established1969; 54 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no. 397
PrincipalTara Quinney
School roll446 [1] (April 2023)
Socio-economic decile8P [2]
Website stpetersgore.school.nz

St Peters College is an integrated state secondary school in Gore, Southland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1969 as a private co-ed school and was the first Catholic co-educational boarding school established in New Zealand.

Contents

History

The idea of a Catholic secondary school in Gore was that of long-serving parish priest (1947–1972), Father (later Monsignor) Finlay. The 30-acre (12 hectare) site of the college was gradually purchased during the 1950s and 1960s and appeals were launched for funds in those decades for the construction of the school. In 1961, the Capuchin Fathers undertook to provide the staff and they became involved in the fund-raising activities in Gore. The first building work commenced with the object of opening the school in 1964. However, after the completion of the staff house and one dormitory, the Capuchins withdrew from the project. Fund-raising continued and in 1965 the Rosminian Order (the Institute of Charity) committed themselves to staff the school. The "advance guard" of Rosminians, Father S Marriott and Brother J Tadesco arrived and they worked with the "central committee" on the fund-raising project. A classroom block was built.

In 1968 Father L Hurdidge was appointed Headmaster. At the time of his appointment he was Deputy Head at St Gregory's College, Huddersfield which was a co-educational school. From the beginning of the project it was assumed that the Gore school would be boys-only but at the time of Father Hurdidge's appointment it was evident that it should be co-educational. His experience in Huddersfield was relevant to the decision to do this. The name of the School, St Peter's, was adopted and it was agreed that it would be staffed by the Sisters of Mercy and the Rosminians. The college was opened by Bishop Kavanagh of Dunedin on 26 January 1969, commencing with classes Form 1–3 (Years 7–9). The first staff consisted of: Fathers L Herdidge (Headmaster), J Buckner, B Hogan, Brothers J Tadesco, E Willett, J Wallace, Sisters Mary David (Senior Mistress), Mary Fidelus and Mary Stephena. Some of the Rosminians came from Rosmini College, Takapuna. The science block was completed soon after the school opened and later a gymnasium and two technical blocks were added. It was decided to build only one of the three proposed dormitory blocks, "Rosmini House", but a house bought on land in Kakapo Street opposite the school was renovated as a hostel for senior boys. It was named St Paul's Without the Walls and known as St Paul's.

The school chapel, built to an interesting and unusual design conducive to a prayerful atmosphere of peace and serenity, was opened in 1978. One important personality in the early years of the school was Brother Tedesco ("Brother Ted"). He was in charge of St Paul's and his service to the wider community included being elected to the Gore Borough Council. The Rosminians also took up some parish duties in the wider area. Fathers Kearns and Moynihan were successively parish priests of Mataura. The school became a State-integrated school on 1 February 1982. The school is now completely lay-staffed. [3]

College Houses

The school has four houses which divide the students into groups for events such as athletics, swimming, cultural and community events. They are: McAuley (blue), Rosmini (yellow), Finlay (green) and Pompallier (red). Mother Catherine McAuley was the founder of the Sisters of Mercy. Antonio Rosmini was the founder of the Rosminians. Monsignor Finlay was the parish priest of Gore who inspired, and laboured unceasingly towards, the building of the college [4] and Bishop Pompallier was the founder of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. The college has a tradition of keeping the same house in family groups. "Rosmini House," the boarding hostel, also has its own set of two houses which the boarding students belong to. They are: Tedesco (orange) and Buckner (purple). Brother Tedesco (Brother Ted) was an important member of the original staff of the college (see above). Father Buckner was a staff member of St Peter's College.

Academic

The college is one of the highest ranking in the southern region. In 2004 and 2006 the school was the highest achieving in Southland, according to NCEA results. [5]

Principals

Notable alumni

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in New Zealand</span> Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in New Zealand

The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope in Rome, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the New Zealand bishops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ratcliffe College</span> Public school in Leicestershire, England

Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic private boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately 7 miles (11 km) from Leicester, England. The college, situated in 100 acres (0.40 km2) of parkland on the Fosse Way about six miles (10 km) north of Leicester, was founded on the instructions of Blessed Father Antonio Rosmini-Serbati in 1845 as a seminary. In 1847, the buildings were converted for use as a boarding school for upper-class boys. The college became coeducational under the presidency of Father Tony Baxter in the mid-1970s. As of the 2018–2019 academic years, there were 850 students on roll at Ratcliffe, from ages 3 to 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Bede's College, Christchurch</span> School

St. Bede's College is an integrated Roman Catholic day and boarding school in Christchurch, New Zealand, for boys aged 12 to 18. St. Bede's is the oldest Roman Catholic Boys' College in New Zealand's South Island. It is also the only Catholic day and boarding college for boys in New Zealand's South Island. Students at St Bede's are colloquially known as Bedeans. St Bede's College was founded in 1911 by the Marists, a religious congregation founded in Lyon, France, in 1816.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kevin's College, Oamaru</span> Integrated co-educational secondary school in Oamaru, New Zealand

St Kevin's College in Oamaru, New Zealand, is a Catholic, coeducational, integrated, boarding and day, secondary school. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1927 for boys and became a co-educational school in 1983 after the Dominican Sisters closed down St Parick's College, Teschemakers, Oamaru. St Kevin's College became a state integrated school in 1983. The Christian Brothers ceased to be on the teaching staff of the college in the late 1990s but remained the school's proprietor, and so appointed representatives to the college board, until 2019 when they transferred the ownership of St Kevin's College to the Bishop of Dunedin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Mary (Marists)</span> Roman Catholic religious institute

The Society of Mary abbreviated SM, commonly known as the Marist Fathers, is a men's Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right. It was founded by Jean-Claude Colin and a group of seminarians in Lyon, France, in 1816. The society's name is derived from the Virgin Mary, whom the members attempt to imitate in their spirituality and daily work. Its members add the nominal letters S.M. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lockhart (priest)</span>

William Lockhart was an English Roman Catholic priest; the first of the Tractarian Movement to convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosmini College</span> State-integrated secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand

Rosmini College is a state integrated Catholic secondary school for boys, situated in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The school caters to Years 7-13, and currently has a roll of approximately 1120 students and staff of 75 teachers. Founded in 1962 by its first headmaster, Father Phillip Catcheside, the school was named after Antonio Rosmini, founder of the Institute of Charity. The school's motto is Legis Charitas Plenitudo, translated as 'Charity Fulfills the Law', or sometimes translated as 'Love Fulfills the Law'. Tom Gerrard was the school's principal from 1976 until 2014, making him New Zealand's longest serving principal. Gerrard died in 2020.

Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 13. The College is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1896–1918). It has the highest rate of achievement in NCEA results for secondary schools in Invercargill city.

Pompallier Catholic College is a Catholic co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Maunu in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is one of nine secondary schools within the Marist network. Pompallier Catholic College is named after Bishop Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier who led the first group of Catholic Missionaries from Lyons, France, to New Zealand. The patron saint of the college is John the Baptist. Students of Pompallier Catholic College are colloquially known as Pompallians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Baptiste Pompallier</span>

Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand and, with priests and brothers of the Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country. He was born in Lyon, France. He arrived in New Zealand in 1838 as Vicar Apostolic of Western Oceania, but made New Zealand the Headquarters of His Catholic Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Peter's College, Auckland</span> School in Auckland, New Zealand

St Peter's College is a Catholic secondary school for boys in the Edmund Rice tradition, and dedicated to St Peter. it is located in the central Auckland area of Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. With a roll of over 1300, the school is one of the largest Catholic schools in New Zealand. St Peter's College was established in 1939 as a successor of Auckland's earliest school and of St Peter's School, founded in 1857. However, Auckland also had another Catholic secondary school dedicated to St Peter, Hato Petera College or St Peter's Māori College, which existed for 90 years from 1928 until 2018 in Northcote.

The Rosminians, officially named the Institute of Charity, abbreviated I.C., are a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded by Antonio Rosmini and first organised in 1828.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloysius Gentili</span> Italian Rosminian cleric

Aloysius Luigi Gentili was an Italian Rosminian cleric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart College, Auckland</span> State-integrated school in Auckland, New Zealand

Sacred Heart College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It is a Catholic, Marist College set on 60 acres (24 ha) of land overlooking the Tamaki Estuary in Glen Innes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sancta Maria College, Auckland</span> School

Sancta Maria College is a co-ed Catholic School in Auckland, New Zealand. It is named after the schooner on which Bishop Pompallier travelled around New Zealand.

Philippe Joseph Viard was a French priest and the first Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hato Petera College</span> Integrated secondary (year 9-13) school

Hato Petera College was an integrated, co-educational college in Northcote Central, Auckland, New Zealand for students from Year 9 to Year 13. It existed for 90 years, opening on 3 June 1928 and closing on 31 August 2018. The school had a strong Catholic and Māori character. It was located on part of the land originally given by Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, to Bishop Pompallier, the first Bishop of Auckland, in 1849 for education purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Drennan</span> 21st-century Catholic bishop

Charles Edward Drennan is a former New Zealand Bishop. He was the second Bishop of Palmerston North, New Zealand, from 2012 to 2019. On 4 October 2019 he resigned his position. Two allegations of "unacceptable behaviour" of a sexual nature were made. An investigation by the Catholic Church's New Zealand Office for Professional Standards found that the behaviour was unacceptable for a Catholic bishop but not criminal in nature.

Colegio Antonio Rosmini is an Italian private & religious school in Maracaibo (Venezuela), created in the 1960s by the Rosminians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. John the Baptist, Auckland</span> Church in Auckland, New Zealand

Church of St. John the Baptist situated in Parnell, New Zealand is registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 historic building. Designed by the architect Edward Mahoney, the church was opened in 1861 by Bishop Jean Francois Baptiste Pompallier, the founder of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. Historically it has supported a convent for the Sisters of Mercy and a school and as of 2021 continues as a functioning parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland.

References

  1. ↑ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Bruce, Helen (1982). The Meeting of the Waters: A History of the Gore Catholic Parish. Gore: Gore Catholic Parish. pp. 21–24.
  4. ↑ "Monsignor Finlay, Gore Parish Priest between 1947 and 1972". St Peter's College, Gore. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Speer, Sophie (10 August 2007). "St Peter's top of the class for NCEA". The Southland Times. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  6. ↑ Jeff Dillon, "Four Dunedin priests farewelled in a few weeks", NZ Catholic, July 30-Aug 12, p. 11.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.