About us

Teenaa Koutou katoa

I am proud to have been the principal of Te Kauwhata College over the last 10 years.

This is a little gem of a college – often overlooked,  along with the village, as people head north and south to the ever increasing metropoles of Auckland and Hamilton. Described as semi-rural,  the school draws from a wide area,  from Maramarua and Waerenga to the East, Mercer and Pokeno to the North, across the river to the hills of Waikaretu in the west and South to the north of Ohinewai. The Waikato is our awa (river) and Waikare our roto (lake).

Situated as we are, in the heart of Kingitanga country,  with Rangiriri, one of  New Zealand’s most important historical sites, almost on our doorstep,  we are proudly maintaining our stance,  as a culturally connected and responsive kura, adhering to our obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

With increasing diversity in our school population representing over 30 ethnicities and languages, we acknowledge and celebrate all cultures, but we are primarily a bi-cultural school.

Our student population ranges between 450 and 550,  and comprises years 7 – 13. We are of a size to be able to maintain our core values as whanau.  The acronym for our school values is GROW – standing for Growth,  Respect, Ownership and Whanaungatanga. The first three are about our students and staff, their personal, professional and academic  development.  The last, encompassing connections, importantly, embraces our wider community and manawhenua.

The holistic wellbeing of all our students remains a central thread in the fabric of our school.    We have a strong collaborative and interagency approach to ensuring that we provide the best pastoral care possible to all students that is widely admired.  The welfare of our staff is also important to us.   We are the first and only school in NZ to achieve Bronze, then Silver,  and now Gold accreditation with the Workwell programme which runs in partnership with the DHB.

We are able to deliver quality lunches daily to our own students and also to some neighbouring Primary schools through our purpose built commercial kitchen, staffed by a dedicated team of food professionals. Our  lunches are famous for their quality.

We deliver a wide curriculum and have a strong focus on providing students with the basics that they will need to flourish in the work force and in tertiary study of any kind.  The development of students’ literacy and numeracy capabilities remains a priority at Years 7- 10. In the senior levels we aim to broaden and develop and we partner with outside agencies as much as possible to expand our curriculum potential.

A strong Outdoor Education programme challenges all students through sharing new experiences,  building team work and resilience. We are fortunate to partner with POET for many of these excursions.  And to bring everything together, we have a team of skilled and dedicated teachers who work together collegially,  keeping the learner at the centre of all they do.

Our vision statement has remained consistent over many years – Ko te matauranga te huarahi ki te anamata Knowledge is the key to success / the pathway to our dreams.  Inherent in this is a strong academic tradition balanced with cultural alignment.  We have an exciting Reorua unit and Te Puaawai mentor classes that support our rangatahi who wish to engage in the tikanga of our area and flourish educationally as Maaori. We support  other Pasifika groups as well in a mentor class (Te Ahurea) designed to give students from other countries a sense of belonging and an opportunity to be proud of who they are and where they come from.  The vibrancy and passion with which these groups share and celebrate each other’s cultures is inspiring.

The Strategic Plan for 2026-28, the Professional Learning Plan and the teacher Growth cycle all  focus around our school’s core values, and systems and structures are aligned with GROW as well.   While our vision is Ko te matauranga te huarahi ki te anamata”  (Knowledge is  the pathway to success/to realise our dreams)  our mission is,  in the words of Princess Te Puea, ‘Kia tupu, kia hua, kia puaawai.’  To grow, to flourish, to sustain.

Ngaa mihi

Deborah hohneck

Principal