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St Peter's College, Palmerston North

St Peter's College
Location
Map
1 Holdsworth Avenue, Milson, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Coordinates40°20′02″S 175°36′19″E / 40.3338°S 175.6054°E / -40.3338; 175.6054
Information
TypeState-integrated Catholic co-ed composite College (Year 7–13)
MottoUbi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia
As Peter, so the Church [1]
Established1974; 51 years ago (founded as an amalgamation of Marist Brother's High School, St Joseph's High School and St Patrick's Intermediate School)
Ministry of Education Institution no.204
PrincipalMargaret Leamy
School roll770[1] (July 2025)
Colour(s)█ Green
Socio-economic decile6N[2]
Websitestpeterspn.school.nz

St Peter's College is a state-integrated Catholic co-ed composite College in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It serves approximately 731 students from Year 7 to Year 13. The school's campus includes the historic St Anskar's Chapel, which was given to the school by the Dannevirke Catholic community.

History

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The college brought together two secondary schools and an intermediate school:

  • Marist Brothers High School for boys located in Grey Street at the rear of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit;
  • St Joseph’s High School for girls, Fitchett St (staffed by the Sisters of Mercy); and
  • St Patrick’s Intermediate School, Pirie St.

The college was built on former farmland in Milson gifted by a Catholic family.[3]

The college commenced operations in late 1974 and was officially opened on 18 August 1974 by the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand, Norman Kirk, shortly before his death in office on 31 August. The opening of St Peter's College was Norman Kirk's last public appearance.[4]

Enrolment

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As a state-integrated school, the proprietors of St Peter's College charge compulsory attendance dues to cover capital costs. For the 2025 school year, the attendance dues payable are $544 per year for students in years 7 and 8, and $1,088 per year for secondary students in years 9 and above.[5]

As of July 2025, St Peter's College has a roll of 770 students, of which 126 (16.4%) identify as Māori.[1]

As of 2025, the school has an Equity Index of 438,[6] placing it amongst schools whose students have below average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 6 and 7 under the former socio-economic decile system).[7]

Organisation

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The school is divided into a junior school (years 7–10) and a senior school (years 11–13) with each group having a head boy and head girl with the latter being school-representative.[8]

Houses

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Students and teachers alike are divided into four houses, named after the first four bishops or archbishops of Wellington. The houses compete annually for the House Shield, involving many house led competitions, like Parables (a short drama based on a Biblical parable), House Kapa Haka, House Singing and so on, as well as serving an organisational purpose for the students:

Principals

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The following persons have occupied the position of principal of the college[3]

  • Sister Mary Clement (Girls)(1974-1979),
  • Brother Henry Spinks (Boys) (1974 – 1981)[3]
  • Sister Mary de Porres (Girls) (1980-1981)
  • Trevor Boyle (first lay principal) (1982 – 1991)[9]
  • Ron O'Leary (1992–2001)[10]
  • Christopher England (2001 - 2007)[11]
  • David Olivier (2010 – 2018)
  • Kevin Shore (2018 – 2020)[9]
  • Margaret Leamey (2020 – present)[9]

Sporting Rivalries

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St Peter's Rugby Union 1st XV plays traditional matches against four other Catholic Schools. The schools are: St John's College, Hastings; Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth; Cullinane College, Wanganui (formerly St Augustines); and Chanel College, Masterton. Traditional games are played on an annual basis, with home and away legs alternating.

Alumni

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Main category: People educated at St Peter's College, Palmerston North

The following persons were educated at St. Peter's College, Marist Brother's High School, St. Joseph's High School and St. Patrick's Intermediate, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b c George Heagney, "St Peter's College to celebrate 50 years at Labour weekend", Stuff, 19 September, 2024
  4. ^ Jimmy Ellingham "'The prime minister is dying': 50 years since Norman Kirk's last public appearance", Radio New Zealand, 18 August 2024 (Retrieved 18 August 2024)
  5. ^ "School Attendance Dues | Diocese of Palmerston North". pndiocese.org.nz. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  6. ^ "New Zealand Equity Index". New Zealand Ministry of Education.
  7. ^ "School Equity Index Bands and Groups". www.educationcounts.govt.nz. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
  8. ^ "Staff Directory". St Peter's College. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b c George Heagney, "St Peter's College principal keen to instil school values", Stuff, 11 December 2020 (Retrieved 29 August 2024)
  10. ^ "Educator Dies", Stuff', 29 May 2024 (Retrieved 31 August 2024)
  11. ^ "NCEA is successful in Catholic schools", Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington (Retrieved 12 October 2024)
  12. ^ "New Zealand target Sevens doubles". ESPN.com. 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  13. ^ "NZ Women's Sevens World Cup team unveiled". All Blacks. 8 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  14. ^ "The Mary Quin Scholarship", St Peter's College Prizegiving awards, St Peter's College Website (Retrieved 25 September 2024)
  15. ^ Kennedy, Alastair (2015). Chinese Anzacs (2nd ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Chinese Association. pp. 147–149. ISBN 9780473318802.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Alastair (2015). Chinese Anzacs (2nd ed.). Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Chinese Association. pp. 147–149. ISBN 9780473318802.

Sources

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  • Pat Gallager, The Marist Brothers in New Zealand Fiji & Samoa 1876–1976, New Zealand Marist Brothers' Trust Board, Tuakau, 1976.
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