WESTERN HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL
About Western Heights High School
Western Heights High School is located in the city of Rotorua with around 78,000 residents in the North Island of New Zealand. The city is approximately 3 hours drive south of Auckland, and a 1 hour drive from the east coast.
Surrounded by natural beauty including freshwater lakes, an array of hot springs and red wood forests, Rotorua is New Zealand’s only bilingual (Māori speaking) city and is the centre of Māori culture. The school provides subjects in both Māori language and performing arts known as ‘Kapa haka’.
Rotorua ranks as one of New Zealand’s top adventure tourism destinations, boasting hundreds of kilometres of offroad mountain biking tracks, as well as being the host of the annual international mountain biking festival known as ‘Crankworx’. Popular activities for international students include white water rafting, ziplining, and zorbing, all of which the school offers as part of their annual summer programme. Furthermore, the city sits on a geothermal hotspot and hosts a variety of geysers and bubbling hot pools.
For Peter Jackson movie enthusiasts, located only 1 hour’s drive away from Rotorua is the film set of ‘Hobbiton’, where
the incredible films ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ were created. A special bus takes visitors to the filming location where they can tour the Hobbit village with all the houses, backyards and taverns used in the feature films.
The school offers tailored support to international students, assisting them to decide on future university careers and for those who would like to to attend university in New Zealand, accreditation is monitored to obtain credits for entry into academic and technical universities. The school has links to both Waikato University, Hamilton and Victoria University, Wellington.
With strengths in the Arts, such as Dance and Music, the school also offers a variety of foreign languages, such as Mandarin, Japanese, French and Spanish. In 2024, foreign language trips are being offered to Japan, Tahiti and Spain. The subject, Outdoor Education (ORSP) also provides students with the opportunity to take advantage of the incredible local attractions on offer.
Subjects include: Dance, Music, Photo Design, Photography, Biology, Business Management, Calculus, Chemistry, Classical Studies,
Visual Design and communication, Digital Technology, Drama, Economics, Fashion Design, Food Technology, Geography, History, Sports and Exercise Science, Information Technology, Māori studies, Mechanical Engineering, Metal Technology, Music, Physical Education, Physics, Health Promotion, Social Studies, Spanish, Statistics, and Tourism Studies. Students are able to select six subjects during their time at the school.
Sports: Western Heights High School excels at volleyball and hockey, and hosts plenty of outdoor space for sports such as football, rugby, hockey, basketball, cross country, athletics, triathlon, and swimming, and Waka ama (outrigger canoeing).
Location:
Rotorua – North Island – NZ
Programme:
High School
Course Duration:
1 to 4 Terms
Uniform:
Compulsory
Accommodation:
Homestay
TYPE OF SCHOOL: Co-educational, Public.
SCHOOL LEVEL: year 9-13
NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 1360+
TERMS: T1 – 30 January – 12 April
T2 – 29 April – 05 July
T3 – 22 July – 27 September
T4 – 14 October – 30 November
SCHOOL GUIDE
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