Aurora College, Invercargill
Secondary school in Invercargill, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aurora College is a state coeducational Year 7–13 secondary school located in Invercargill, New Zealand.
| Aurora College | |
|---|---|
Te Muranga a Rangi | |
| Location | |
 | |
234 Regent Street Invercargill 9812 New Zealand 46°25′52″S 168°22′59″E | |
| Information | |
| Former name | Mount Anglem College |
| Type | State co-educational secondary (years 7–13) |
| Motto | It's not just the stars that shine |
| Established | 2004 |
Ministry of Education Institution no. | 548 |
Principal | Craig Taylor |
| Enrollment | 604[1] (July 2026) |
Socio-economic decile | 2E[2] |
| Website | www |
It is New Zealand's southernmost stand-alone secondary school, and second southernmost secondary school after The Catlins Area School in Owaka.
History
Aurora College opened in 2005, although it has a history extending back to 1912. It was formed from the merger of Mt Anglem College and Tweedsmuir Junior High School, on the former Mt Anglem site.[3] Mt Anglem College had operated for only six years, having opened in 1999 following the merger of Kingswell and Cargill High Schools on the existing Kingswell site.[4] Cargill High School was the successor school to Southland College (formerly Southland Technical College[5][6]) after the latter site become part of Southland Polytechnic in 1978.[7] Kingswell High School, which was established in 1971,[8][9] was built to the S68 plan which is characterised by single-storey classroom blocks of concrete block construction, with low-pitched roofs and internal open courtyards.[10]
| Southland Technical College (1912–1967) | Tweedsmuir Intermediate / Tweedsmuir Junior High School (1943–2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Southland College (1967–1978) | |||||||||||||||||
| Cargill High School (1978–1998) | Kingswell High School (1971–1998) | ||||||||||||||||
| Mt Anglem College (1999–2004) | |||||||||||||||||
| Aurora College (2005–present) | |||||||||||||||||
Enrolment
As of July 2026, Aurora College has roll of 604 students, of which 231 (38.2%) identify as Māori.[1]
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 545,[11] placing it amongst schools whose students have the most socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 1 and 2 under the former socio-economic decile system).[12]
Notable staff
Notable staff of Aurora College or its predecessor institutions include:
- Jack Alabaster, cricketer and educator
- Austin Brookes, mountaineer and educator[13]
- William (Bill) James Reed, artist[14]
Notable alumni
People educated at Aurora College or its predecessor institutions include:
- Rex Austin, politician
- Johnny Checketts, World War II air ace
- Simon Culhane, rugby union player
- Ruth Dallas, writer and poet
- Bill Kini, boxer
- Jean McKenzie, diplomat
- Trevor Moffitt, artist
- Mils Muliaina, rugby union player
- Cliff Skeggs, businessman and politician
- Jeff Wilson, rugby union player and cricketer
