Tararua College is a secondary school in Pahiatua

Pahiatua

Pahiatua is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with an urban and rural population of over 4,000. It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and the Wairarapa Line railway, north of Masterton and east of Palmerston North...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, with a role of approximately 407 students.
The college mission statement is Tararua College promotes excellence and personal development inside and outside the classroom. The college celebrated its 50th Jubilee over Easter 2010.

History

The college was opened in 1960. The regional station Tararua TV was started in 2004, in an egg-carton lined room at the school. In 2006, pupil brawls and abuse of teachers at the school was effectively stopped with the introduction of a ban on student cellphones. Later that year a student teacher was forced to resign after admitting an affair with a pupil of the school.

Visual art

Each year around 160 students from Year 9 to 13 learn visual arts. In senior classes, students specialise in painting, photography or design. The Visual Art Department had a new studio in 2010 with facilities including a darkroom and computer graphics suite.

Music

Over 120 students learn a musical instrument through the in-school tuition programme. The tutors offer tuition in 13 instruments, from drums to piccolo. The College has both concert and stage bands who play at school and community occasions. There are a number of rock bands, some of who enter into national competitions. The school also has vocal tuition and the opportunity to join one of the choirs.

Former pupils

• Heather McRae, principal of Diocesan School for Girls
  Diocesan School for Girls (Auckland)
  Diocesan School for Girls is a private girls' school in Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. It is consistently a top-achieving school nationally. The school is Anglican-based and was established in 1903. It caters to international students and has accommodation for 35 boarders at Innes House...
  
   in Auckland.
• Roger Sowry
  Roger Sowry
  Roger Morrison Sowry, ONZM is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and was the deputy leader from 2001 to 2003.-Early life:...
  
  , government cabinet minister, former head boy
• Michael Mason, New Zealand Blackcap cricketer
• Tara Drysdale, New Zealand Blackstick