Waikato Diocesan School
| Waikato Diocesan School for Girls | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
660 River Road Chartwell Hamilton 3210 New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 37°45′52″S 175°16′10″E / 37.7645°S 175.2694°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State integrated single-sex girls secondary school, years 9–13 |
| Motto | Veritate, Simplicitate, Fidelitate |
| Established | 1909 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 140 |
| Principal | Mary Curran |
| School roll | 694[1] (February 2024) |
| Socio-economic decile | 10Z[2] |
| Website | www |
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls is a state-integrated single-sex girls' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand. It is an Anglican girls' Boarding school for students from Year 9 to Year 13. It also has day students.
History[edit]
Dio was first established as Sonning School in 1909, situated on Milton Street, Hamilton. With only a small roll of four pupils the school began to grow, and as it did there was need for larger premises so it was moved to Anglesea Street. Larger land was then purchased and a new school built on the eastern side of the railway bridge. This school was named Sonning after the Berkshire Village from which the Whitehorn family originated. It was then that the first Bishop of the Waikato, Cecil Cherrington, wanted to establish an Anglican Girls School in Hamilton and the Waikato Board for Diocesan Schools, formed in 1927, leased Sonning School from Mrs Whitehorn and then, in 1929. Property at the current site in River Road, Hamilton, New Zealand was then bought. Waikato Diocesan School was officially opened in 1928 with a roll of 13 boarders and 70 day girls. The school opened at its permanent site in 1930, consisting of its flagship building, Cherrington, the Homestead, a barn, which was used as both hall and chapel, and open air classrooms. Dio has continued to grow and has had 11 principals, and now has a roll of around 620 students.
Waikato Diocesan School was a private school until March 1983, when it integrated into the state education system.[3]
Houses[edit]
| Scott | named after Robert Falcon Scott, British Royal Navy Officer and Antarctic explorer | |
| Hillary | named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mount Everest | |
| Blake | named after Sir Peter Blake, a yachtsman | |
| Shackleton | named after Sir Ernest Shackleton, an Antarctic explorer | |
| Ross | named after Sir James Clark Ross, an Antarctic explorer | |
| Wilson | named after Edward Adrian Wilson, an Antarctic explorer |
Notable alumnae[edit]
- Dame Ann Ballin (1932–2003), psychologist and victims' rights advocate
- Kylie Bax (born 1975), model and actress
- Susan O'Regan, mayor of Waipa
- Hannah Osborne (born 1994), Olympic rower
- Julia Ratcliffe (born 1993), track and field athlete
- Dame Te Atairangikaahu (1931–2006), Māori queen
- Nanaia Mahuta (born 1970), politician and 28th Minister of Foreign Affairs
References[edit]
- ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ Zealand, Education in New. "Integration agreements for state integrated schools: V to Z". Education in New Zealand. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- Waikato Diocesan School. (2009). www.waikatodiocesan.school.nz. In Waikato Diocesan School for Girls. Retrieved 20 March 2009, from http://www.waikatodiocesan.school.nz/.
- McLennan, V. (2009) Waikato Diocesan School for Girls Prospectus. Hamilton, NZ: WDSG.