Avondale College has been named the national winner for Excellence in Quality Teaching and Instruction (Secondary School) at the inaugural New Zealand Education Excellence Awards, held at Parliament in Wellington yesterday. The award recognises the college’s outstanding approach to strengthening teaching practice and supporting and growing its teachers and leaders to achieve excellent outcomes for students. Building a Strong Teaching Team Avondale College is one of New Zealan

A group of Avondale College students recently enjoyed a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of the redevelopment of our Performing Arts Centre (PAC), gaining valuable insight into the many professions involved in bringing a major building project to life. As part of their contract, the contractors and consultants involved were asked to give back to the school community. This careers-focused initiative provided the perfect opportunity to do so, connecting students with

Avondale College marked Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with a week of celebrations that recognised and celebrated Māori culture, language and achievement across our school community. The week began on Monday with a powerful whole-school haka performed at assembly, followed by Te Pō Angitū, our annual Māori Success Evening on Tuesday. This special event honoured the contributions and achievements of our tauira Māori across cultural, academic and sporting pursuits, while also recognisi

We're buzzing with excitement to share that Avondale College's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has received an incredible 17 Showdown LIVE Award nominations! Congratulations to our phenomenal cast, creative team, and production crew, who have been recognised across a wide range of categories: Outstanding Musical Best Director of a Musical – Ms Stone Best Vocal Performance – The Cast Best Dance Performance – The Cast Best Performer in a Lead Role (

Our highest achieving students were honoured with a range of awards at our last Honours Assembly. A full list of award winners can be found here: Congratulations, all!

In this Issue From the Principal Upcoming Events Te reo Māori – Āke, ake, ake! What Te Wiki o te reo Māori means to me Be inspired by our inquisitive young minds! From blueprints to build: exploring the PAC project Same Room, Different Story Lessons from the Trail: Year 12 OED at the Pinnacles Teasing Our Next School Show... Sports results

Bee Awareness Month provided a timely opportunity to celebrate New Zealand’s native bees and raise awareness of the challenges facing bee populations. These VIPs (Very Important Pollinators) play a vital role in supporting healthy ecosystems and food production, yet many species are under pressure from habitat loss and environmental change. Supporting bees requires more than reducing single-use plastics. It means making sustainable choices, creating bee-friendly habitats, and

Our Chefs for Compassion co-curricular group exists to promote kindness in practical ways, using hospitality, service and shared meals to bring people together and support those in our community. We were honoured to host Matua Warahi and Whaea Linda with an opulent high tea at the wharekai on Saturday with some of their closest friends and whānau. Chefs for Compassion students were moved to hear about the recent loss of their home in a fire, and wanted to find a way to show

A reminder that this Monday 21 September is a Teacher only day. All students will need to work from home on this day.

Avcol's student dancers took to the stage at the Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre last week to showcase a year's worth of work. Featuring 41 back-to-back performances and more than 120 dancers from across all year levels, the showcase celebrated a diverse range of styles, including contemporary, K-pop, Bollywood, Cha Cha, Jazz, hip-hop, cultural dances, and performances from our award-winning soloists. Performed under dazzling lights and accompanied by foot-tapping music, the even

In this Issue From the Principal Upcoming Events ILLUMINATE spotlights an epic year of dance It takes a village: celebrating our Pacific achievers A banquet fit for kaumatua Scholarship applications open now The buzz about bees Can you help Second Bite? Teasing our next Show... Sports Results Notices

$5,000 Scholarship for Avondale College Business & Commerce Students Thinking about studying business or commerce next year? You could be eligible for a $5,000 scholarship generously funded by Avondale College alumnus Joe Steel. After completing a business degree at AUT, Joe has built a successful career as a real estate agent in our local community. Through this scholarship, Joe wants to support an Avondale College student who has demonstrated our HEART values and is moving

Lizard Crimson (Year 13) has been awarded the inaugural Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) Secondary School Leavers Scholarship 2026 for her short story 'If Tattered Threads Compose Me, Do Wires Uphold Your Spine'. The scholarship recognises outstanding young writers and attracted entries from talented students across New Zealand. Her win came as a complete surprise. "I thought it was worth a shot, but I wasn't expecting to win as I know there are a lot of amazing young w

Congratulations to Xanthe Andzue (Year 13), who has been selected as a finalist in the Te Uru Secondary Art Award, a prestigious competition celebrating outstanding artistic talent from West Auckland secondary schools. Xanthe's artwork is currently on display at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi as part of the finalists' exhibition, which officially opened last Saturday. The competition invites each West Auckland high school to nominate an artwork by one of i

In this Issue From the Principal Upcoming Events A Winter Tournament to remember The winning thread: Lizard receives literary scholarship Coming Soon: 3 Amazing Drama Shows Past forward: Xanthe selected for Te Uru Secondary Art Award A new beginning for Te Puna Aroha Future lawyers explore life in law Quick thinking leads to Theatresports victory Sweet treats, big impact Teasing Our Next School Show... Clue #1 Notices

Enrolments Officer Kim Lawrence; Deputy Principal Ngahuia Lott; Sergeant Telisha Krishra; Anthony Tuitavake; Data Manager Donna Thomas The Out of Zone ballot took place today, Wednesday 9 September, supervised by Sergeant Telisha Krishra and Constable Anthony Tuitavake of the Avondale Community Policing Team, pictured with Deputy Principal Ngahuia Lott, Enrolments Officer Kim Lawrence and Data Manager Donna Thomas. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the end of Mond

Avondale College’s Spoken Word group performed in their first ever semifinal of the Auckland-wide poetry competition, Word the Front Line. There were 13 teams from all across Auckland competing in the semifinals. Meeting other youth poets was a highlight of the team’s time at Word the Front line. The team, consisting of Tess Robinson, Sheneth Fernando, Zainab Sadat Mosavi, Mandara Keliduwa Gamage, and Harper Spurway, acquitted themselves well, presenting three poems: a full g

Seven talented Avondale College designers recently showcased their creativity and skills at New Zealand Fashion Week, as part of the Walk the Line competition. Year 13 students Mia Archipow; Mika Gunning; Hanna Lam and Sidhi Arora; and Najya Sameer, Iris Yeh and Alicia Yeung were selected to present their original garments on the runway. The Walk the Line competition provides emerging young designers with the opportunity to share their work in a professional fashion environme

Our Year 10 Sports Academy students enjoyed an exciting half-day visit to the AUT Millennium Centre this week, one of New Zealand's premier high-performance sporting facilities and the training base for many Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes. Throughout the day, students participated in a range of practical and educational sessions designed to develop their athletic performance and their understanding of sports science. Highly trained mentors lead them in basketball exe

Illuminate Dance Showcase shines a light on the journeys and achievements of our student dancers throughout 2026. 📅 Dates: Wednesday 9 & Thursday 10 September 🕖 Time: 7.00pm 📍 Venue: Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre The programme features a diverse range of performances, as well as appearances from several of our multi-award-winning soloists and groups: Hip Hop K-Pop Bollywood Cha Cha Cha Gumboot Dance Siva Samoa Tongan Dance Jazz Contemporary Student Choreography We