| Whangaparāoa College | |
| Native Name: | mi|Kāreti o Whangaparāoa |
| Motto: | Together, Believe, Achieve (Ngatahi, Whakapono, Tutuki) |
| Type: | Non-Integrated co-ed, Composite (Year 7–13) |
| Coordinates: | -36.6317°N 174.7455°W |
| Principal: | Steve McCracken |
| Roll: | |
| Decile: | 9Q[1] |
| Moe: | 6763 |
| Homepage: | wgpcollege.school.nz |
| Free Label: | Former names |
Whangaparāoa College is a co-educational state secondary school on the Hibiscus Coast of New Zealand. The school has a roll of students from Years 7 to 13 (as of), including international students.
Prior to the opening of Whangaparāoa College, Orewa College was the sole secondary school operating on the Hibiscus Coast.[2] Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School operated on the site now occupied by Whangaparāoa College. [3]
Announced in 2003, and initially named Stanmore Bay Secondary School,[4] Whangaparāoa College opened on absorbing Hibiscus Coast Intermediate School. Brian O'Connell served as founding principal until 2012.[5]
As one of serveral modern high schools to open in the early 2000s alongside Botany Downs Secondary College and Alfriston College,[6] the school's facilities and technology used are leaders in the New Zealand education system, being only the third new high school to open since 1981.[7] Whangaparāoa College positions itself as an environmentally aware site. [8]
Following O'Connell's departure, James Thomas served as principal from 2012.[9] In mid-2021, Steve McCracken took over as principal.[10]
At the school's latest Education Review Office review in 2016,[11] Whangaparāoa College had 1285 students enrolled. Fifty-two percent of students were female and forty-eight percent were male. Seventy-eight percent of students identified as European New Zealanders (Pākehā), ten percent as Māori, four percent as Asian, two percent as Pasifika, and six percent as another ethnicity.
Whangaparāoa College has an equity index rating of, and a socioeconomic decile (step Q), meaning it draws its school community from areas of high socioeconomic status when compared to other New Zealand schools.