Papakura High School

Papakura High School was established in 1954 and is built on the mana whenua of Ngāti Tamaoho. The school is a co-educational, Year 9 to 13+ school and part of the supercity of Auckland with easy rail and motorway links to Auckland city to the North and Waikato and Coromandel to the South. Papakura is shortly to become the terminus of the Waikato-Auckland commuter rail service.

Students are encouraged to set high academic and vocational goals and to develop a philosophy for lifelong learning. Individual difference is recognised and catered for within the school. We have a Learning Support Centre which meets the needs of students with intellectual and emotional learning challenges. As a school we believe in kaitiakitanga as we respect the individual differences between each other and do our best for the variety of needs of our students. With the rich cultural diversity present in our school, our students are committed to keeping their cultures alive and they participate with great enthusiasm in the annual Polyfest and other kapa haka festivals.

The logo of the school is proudly displayed on the hall building and is very visible as visitors arrive onto the school campus. The design of this beautiful kereru logo was the result of a year's work be Te Kaunihera-a-Ākonga, our Student Council, which has even representation from all year groups and from our three whānau. The motto or whakatauki "Kia Rangatira", (Be a Chief), reflects the meaning of the logo as well as connecting to the motto of our intermediate school. It is a call for young people to step up as leaders.

The development of the three whānau (Kirikiri, Otuuwairoa and Te Aparangi) for the structure and development of our school was initiated in consultation and partnership with our local iwi, Ngāti Tamaoho. The names which our iwi gifted to the school are of historical and cultural significance to the Papakura area, as they connect directly to places which were lost during the land confiscations during the New Zealand wars.

Students have the opportunity to engage in a wide range of programmes within our school. As they progress through to the senior years they receive career guidance and can choose to broaden their subject choice by involvement in part time trades academy programmes which are run either at other local secondary schools or one of our tertiary providers, such as MIT or AUT. We are also extremely fortunate to have our Police Academy (the first in Auckland) and a Services Academy. All students are strongly encouraged to participate in either a winter or summer sport. we are grateful for all the staff and parents who contribute their time to coaching and managing these teams.