Botany Downs Secondary College

Summary

“We believe that the world is an exciting place, full of wonderful opportunities.”

At Botany Downs Secondary College we provide a range of experiences that instil a sense of confidence and self-belief. We encourage students to seize these opportunities and pursue success to create their best possible future.

About Our Co​llege

We are a public high school for students aged 13-18. we usually host 150 international students from twenty countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America.  Located in Botany Downs a relatively new, affluent area forty minutes from Auckland city New Zealand’s largest city.

The college has developed a reputation for innovation, quality of education and a genuine commitment to individual student support.

We provide excellent opportunities for students in all our subject areas, however our areas of strength include: Mathematics, Science, Technology and the Arts.

Facilities

We realise the importance of ensuring that students are prepared for an exciting future and we are committed to providing opportunities that will allow them to gain the skills they need.

The college has a purpose-built auditorium for performances, which has been built to enable all types of performance: from dance, drama and concerts to student assemblies and prizegiving’s.

Local Area

Our suburb and has been designed to create a distinctive, safe, neighbourly environment with its own recreation facilities. Directly opposite the college is Botany Town Centre, New Zealand’s second-largest shopping mall which offers a range of community facilities including:

• library,
• cafés,
• cinema,
• food court,
• ice rink and tenpin bowling.

Botany Downs also features excellent transport options including a bus hub allowing students easy access to Auckland city.

We are close to Auckland Airport the largest airport in New Zealand. This is a real benefit for international students who won’t need to take internal flights to return to their country.

Whānau

Our Whānau system is at the heart of the college and the foundation of the approach we take to student education and care. We have six two-storey buildings called "Whānau" which in Māori means family. The second floor contains specialist teaching rooms and the ground floor has more classrooms, a kitchen and a common space providing a “home away from home” where students can gather before and after school.

Each whānau has a Whānau Leader, who is responsible for managing the pastoral care, academic monitoring and discipline of each student. Having in effect, six small schools provides students with the care, support and continuity that small schools are renowned for, whilst still retaining all the advantages that only a large school can provide, in terms of subjects, sports and leadership opportunities.

We take great care to ensure that students who speak the same language are distributed between the six whānau. This helps to ensure that your child will have the best opportunity to integrate with local students.

Experience and Culture

We believe that a student’s time in New Zealand should be a mixture of education and experience.

The Māori culture is the heart of our country’s unique make-up and its influence is present in our everyday lives from the College’s Whānau (family) structure our sports team’s haka and our annual trip to Rotorua, the home of ‘Māori-dom’. We provide opportunities for all our students to experience many aspects of this amazing culture which of course, is something only New Zealand can offer.

Extra-curricular activities Sports:

Rugby, Soccer, Netball, Badminton, Basketball, Volleyball, Cricket, Hockey, Tennis, Touch Rugby, Table Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Lacrosse, Squash

Dance:

Stage Challenge, Pulse Dance Performance, Samoan Dance, Indian Dance, Tongan Dance, Pasifika Dance

Drama:

School Wide Production, Theatre Sports

Groups:

Enviro Schools, Kapa Haka (traditional New Zealand Dance), Cultural Groups, Chess Club, Online Gaming Group, Lion Dancing, Korean Drumming, Debating, Cooking Club

Music:

Orchestra, Concert Band