Catholic Schools

History

The first Catholic School in New Zealand was opened in 1841, a year after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between Maori and the British Crown.

Initially, the early Catholic missionaries, led by Bishop Pompallier, focused on schools for Maori.

As the European settlers grew in size, the numbers of schools expanded throughout the country.

In 1877, the newly established central Government which has taken over from the regionally based Provincial Governments, passed an Education Act that was secular in its orientation. The New Zealand Catholic population, led by its Bishops, decided to establish its own network of schools, as a consequence.

The school system expanded, rapidly, as a result, with most parishes around the country establishing their own Catholic primary schools. The first Catholic secondary schools commenced in the 1880s.

The growth of the Catholic population, particularly following World War II, meant that by the early 1970s, the financial burden of running a modern school system had become too great for Catholic parents and the schools were in danger of closing. The government of the day agreed to assist Catholic and other schools with a distinctive religious or philosophical special character such as the Montessori Schools - by funding their operational costs, while allowing them to preserve their special character. This system of partnership with the state school system is called Integration, and a school participating in it, is called an Integrated school.

Today there are 189 Catholic primary schools in New Zealand and 49 high schools (more often called secondary schools or colleges). All are Integrated schools.

Nine percent of all New Zealand's school children are enrolled in the Catholic school system. The total number of students in Catholic schools is almost 63,000 (2005).

The schools have a significant percentage of Pacific Island students enrolled in them, particularly in Auckland and Wellington.

Academically, the schools do very well, and in many instances, achieve above national averages in public examinations and learning outcomes.

Over the last fourteen years the rolls in Catholic schools have increased by almost 20 percent as twelve new schools have opened and a number of schools expanded their number of students.