Verdon College Explained

Verdon College
Motto:Rely on God
Established:1981; years ago
Type:State-Integrated co-educational secondary
Chairman:Ian Sutherland
Principal:Jarlath Kelly
District:Newfield
Chaplain:Fr Jaewoo Lee
Decile:6N[1]
Grades:Years 7–13
Hours In Day:6
Song:The Verdon Anthem
Address:210 Rockdale Road
Country:New Zealand
Coordinates:-46.4161°N 168.3955°W
Moe:408

Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 13 (ages 11–18). 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.

In 2022, 91.9% of Year 11 students achieved NCEA Level 1,[2] 82.9% of Year 12 students achieved NCEA Level 2, and 52.3% of Year 13 students achieved NCEA Level 3. In 2022, 19 students were given at least one Vocational Pathway Award.[3]

History

Verdon College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school, established in 1982 through the 1981 amalgamation of St Catherine's College (a single-sex high school for girls operated by the Dominican Sisters) and Marist College (single-sex high school for boys operated by the Marist Brothers).

The Marist College site (which became Verdon College) was built on former farmland at the eastern boundary of Invercargill and opened in 1969.[4] The new combined Catholic high school was named after Bishop Verdon. Due the school's growth parts of the school are located on what used to be Cargill High and Te Wharekura o Arowhenua.

St Catherine's College dates back to 1882.[5]

Aerial Imagery

These images are of the Marist College now Verdon College site.

Bishop Verdon Block

In the mid-2000s, Verdon college acquired a gymnasium and a full-sized S68 design classroom block on the site of the former Cargill High School. A multimillion-dollar refurbishment of the acquired classroom block was completed in 2008 and named the Bishop Verdon Block, mainly for the year seven and eight students. It also contains two computer suites, a library, a science laboratory, and a study atrium.[6]

Roll

As at 1 July 2022, the college has a current roll of 704 students. The school's ethnic composition contained NZ European/Pākehā 52%, Māori 28%, Pasifika 5.5%, Asian 13.3% and other ethnicities including MELAA1.2%.[7] Verdon has a higher proportion of Māori, Pasifika and Asian students than the overall composition of the Southland region.[8]

The college offers a broad range of educational opportunities for student achievement in the areas of sport and culture as well as a diverse academic curriculum.

Cultural Activities

Other regional and national competitions that students compete in are:

Sport

Sporting activities

Sports offered at the college

Verdon offers many sporting opportunities for the students, such as:

Notable students

Ex-pupils of Verdon College or its predecessor schools, St Catherine's College and Marist College.

Notes

1.MELAA is defined by Statistics New Zealand as Middle Eastern, Latin American and African.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools . Ministry of Education . 12 February 2015 . 24 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150124000031/http://www.minedu.govt.nz/~/media/MinEdu/Files/EducationSectors/PrimarySecondary/SchoolOpsResourcing/OperationalFundingDeciles/DecileChanges_20142015.xls . live .
  2. Web site: Counts . Education . Ministry of Education - Education Counts . 2023-08-19 . www.educationcounts.govt.nz . en-NZ.
  3. Web site: Counts . Education . Ministry of Education - Education Counts . 2023-08-19 . www.educationcounts.govt.nz . en-NZ.
  4. Web site: Searle . Jamie . 2017-03-24 . Marist Brothers' work celebrated in south . 2022-11-05 . Stuff . en.
  5. Web site: St Catherine's College . Invercargill City Libraries and Archives.
  6. Web site: Paul. Dedication of the Bishop Verdon Block. 2021-12-08. 14 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081014135412/http://newsblog.verdoncollege.school.nz/2008/03/dedication-of-bishop-verdon-block.html. live.
  7. Web site: Counts . Education . Ministry of Education - Education Counts . 2022-03-27 . www.educationcounts.govt.nz . en-NZ.
  8. Web site: 2018 Census place summaries Stats NZ . 2022-03-27 . www.stats.govt.nz.
  9. Web site: More national honours for Verdon College pupil Aliyah Dunn. stuff.co.nz. 25 May 2017. 16 October 2022.
  10. Web site: Aliyah's far from Dunn with Silver Ferns. www.newsroom.co.nz. 19 April 2022. 16 October 2022.
  11. News: Sekone-Fraser realises dream. The Southland Times. Brendon. Egan. 28 June 2011. 26 August 2011. 29 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629110557/http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/5199272/Sekone-Fraser-realises-dream. live.