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Tawa College Board

Tēnā koutou katoa, as we near the end of Term 1, the Board has some updates to share with our community.

Board Members

Our current Board members are Sarah Campbell (Presiding Member), Caillie Evans (Deputy Presiding Member), Stephen Clarke (Parent Representative), Anne Rose (Parent Representative), Angela Cameron (Whānau Representative), Kimberly Calixto (Student Representative), Tyron Davies (Staff Representative) and Andrew Savage (Principal). The Board meets monthly during term time and details of our meeting dates, as well as approved board minutes from past meetings, can be found on the Tawa College website: Board info

There will be a Board election in September this year. Further information about this will be communicated in Term 2. If you are interested in putting yourself forward, you are welcome to email our Presiding Member at

(tawacollegeboard@tawacollege.school.nz) for more information or to organise a chat. There is also information about becoming a board member available through the New Zealand School Boards Association: https://www.tewhakaroputanga.org.nz/advice-and-support/information-for-parents

House System

The Board has received really positive feedback about the implementation of our new house and pastoral system, with 2025 starting smoothly. We thank all staff for their hard work to get this new system up and running. We’d also like to acknowledge students and whānau for their patience and understanding as the changes are being implemented and minor wrinkles are being ironed out! It’s been great to hear about students stepping up to leadership opportunities and participating in a range of fun house activities. 

Sports Review

We would like to thank all the students and their whānau, staff and volunteers who make sporting success at Tawa College possible. We believe sport plays an important role in the lives of so many of our students and take seriously the task of supporting the structures that make that possible. 

In late 2024, the Tawa College Board commissioned an independent review of sport at Tawa College to look at opportunities for improving our delivery of extracurricular sports activities. The review was completed and submitted to the Board for consideration, and identified key themes, findings, and recommendations. The Board has delegated the response to the review to a committee, which is responsible for engaging with the recommendations and evaluating their feasibility and priority. The Sports Review Committee is now considering these findings and developing an implementation plan to address the identified challenges and opportunities – with a focus on ensuring they are sustainable and reasonable within the operational limitations of a state school. 

We would like to recognise the continuing hard work of the sports staff in delivering extracurricular sports so far this year. Tawa College has already seen some wonderful achievements from students in different sports codes in 2025. You can follow our student successes here:

We gratefully acknowledge that many enthusiastic and engaged parents and community members are keen to support sport at Tawa College. We are committed to ensuring sport at Tawa College provides a range of quality opportunities and experiences for all students and our community. We look forward  to continuing to invest in growing sport at Tawa College and with your support, the experience will only get better.

Property

As you will have seen, there is significant property work underway at the college. We are pleased to share that the “old” gym will be complete and ready for use again for Term 2. The newer portion will take longer to complete but work is progressing steadily. We’d like to thank the staff in the Physical Education and Sports Department for their adaptability and the efforts they have made over Term 1 to ensure programmes are delivered without their usual facilities. 

Building the right school for Tawa 

The Tawa College Board is committed to ensuring the long-term strength and sustainability of our school. As part of our strategic planning, the Board has made the considered decision to support the gradual reduction of our student roll from approximately 1150  to around 1000 over the coming years. This is due to a number of factors including:

  • Changes to demographics in the Tawa zone have seen a reduction in the number of Year 8 students enrolling from contributing schools (i.e. there are fewer students in the zone).

  • Housing is expensive in Tawa and there is limited growth expected in the area.

  • Public transport access has had an impact on accessibility for out of zone students.

  • We are committed to be a good neighbour to our local schools – Porirua College, Mana College, Bishop Viard and Aotea College, and we are morally obligated to think carefully about the number of out of zone students we take.

  • There could be new schools opening  in the foreseeable future (e.g. Charter Schools).

This will ensure that we operate within our allocated resourcing while continuing to provide a quality education for our students.

This proactive approach reflects our responsibility to both our own community and the wider educational landscape as well as demographic shifts within the Wellington region. By aligning our intake more closely with the number of students from within our school zone, we are acting as a good neighbour to other local secondary schools and supporting balanced enrolments across the region.

A more sustainable roll size will bring several benefits:
✔ A new curriculum, allowing for new learning experiences and stronger student support.
✔ A more connected school community, fostering deeper relationships between students, staff, and whānau.
✔ Stable and well-managed staffing levels, ensuring that we maintain quality teaching and learning.
✔ Greater certainty for the future, enabling us to plan effectively and invest in the areas that matter most.

We recognise that this transition will require careful management in the short term, and there may be adjustments along the way. However, our ultimate goal is to ensure that Tawa College remains a school that effectively serves its community in a sustainable and future-focused manner.  We are excited to be a community school and welcome all families currently residing in the school zone. We also welcome the engagement and contribution of those who have joined the college from outside the zone through the official ballot process.  We want to assure you that this transition will not impact current families living outside the zone who have children at the college.

Tawa College aims to face change with integrity, and this strategic decision will help secure a thriving, well-resourced future for the College.

As always the Board is keen to receive feedback from our college community.  If you have anything that you would like to raise about the information provided within this message please respond using this feedback form: https://forms.gle/oXAWHTtipFE3e9uG6