Rotorua Boys' High School (RBHS) is a state school educating boys from Year 9 to Year 13. It is situated just outside the Rotorua CBD at the intersection of Old Taupo Road and Pukuatua Street in Rotorua, New Zealand. The school is governed by an elected School Board, of which the Principal is ex officio a member under guidelines laid down by the New Zealand Ministry of Education."Your school board: for parents and Whānau". Rotorua Boys' High School. With Māori enrolment exceeding 75% of the school’s intake, the largest per capita in New Zealand,Rachel Trow & Morgan Godfery. (24 July 2022). For The Sake of Our Boys. Metro (magazine). New Zealand. RBHS has been a longstanding recipient of funding from its Ngāti Whakaue endowment that assisted the construction of the school’s 104-bed hostel, and the purchase of a computer laboratory. RBHS is noted for its performance in sport, with 4 Olympians among its notable alumni,The Olympic success story of Rotorua Boys' High School. Stuff, (31 January 2009). and for having won the Prime Minister of New Zealand Supreme Award for Excellence in Education and the Excellence in Leading Award, making it the top school in the country for 2019.Prime Minister’s Awards recognise excellence in education. Education Gazette: ISSUE: VOLUME 98, NUMBER 17. Ministry of Education (New Zealand). Its retiring principal, Chris Grinter, was the longest serving in the school's history, and in 2022, he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education and Māori.Wilson, Megan. (30 December 2022). New Year Honours: Chris Grinter appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Rotorua Daily Post.
History
Rotorua Boys' High School had its beginnings as the Rotorua High and Grammar School, founded in 1927 to replace the earlier Rotorua District High School (1914–1926). By 1956 it had a roll in excess of 1200 students. Revenues for the school came from land gifted by the Ngāti Whakaue people for the Town of Rotorua in 1880 under the Fenton Agreement.The Fenton Agreement: The setting up of Rotorua. Te Arawa Stories Digital Storehouse.Story: Te Kōti Whenua – Māori Land Court. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand"Our School History". Rotorua Boys' High School.Kevin J. Lyall – School Historian. Rotorua Boys' High School – An Historical Introduction. p.26.
The Intermediate Department was closed when Rotorua Intermediate School was established in 1957. The Rotorua High School was further split to make room for a growing population of the district and its educational needs when, in 1959 Rotorua Girls' High School was opened. Rotorua High School was then established as Rotorua Boys' High School and commenced to function as a state secondary school for boys with a roll of 640 pupils in February 1959.Rotorua High and Grammar School, Rotorua Boys' High School History and Register of Pupils by Kevin J Lyall
Two memorial honours boards titled Pro Patria 1939–1945 Non Omnis Moriar either side of the stage in the school’s assembly hall commemorate 61 RBHS veterans who died in World War 2 military service. Also listed on the second board are two from the Vietnam War and one for World War 1. A photograph of each is placed next to their name. Another honours board lists War Orders, Decorations and Medals bestowed on 17 veterans from the school.Rotorua Boys' High School memorial. Ministry for Culture and Heritage, updated 17-Feb-2017. New Zealand History.
In the 1980s, RBHS was an early adopter of computer technology both in its central administration and in delivery of classroom teaching via the government-backed Poly-1. Funds for the purchases came from the Ngāti Whakaue grant.Polys in action at Rotorua. (August 1984). Pages 68–69. Bits & Bytes (New Zealand) In 2020, the school was accredited by Apple Computer with 'Apple Distinguished School' status, which is awarded to schools that demonstrate "leadership, educational excellence and a vision for learning with technology".Apple Distinguished Schools. Official website: Apple Inc.Rotorua Boys' High School, Introducing & Leveraging Digital Learning. 21 May 2020. mb3 website: Apple Computer.
In 2011, the Head of Biology at the school, Dr Angela Sharples, won the Prime Minister's Science Teacher's Prize "as recognition for her outstanding teaching".The Prime Minister's Science Teacher Prize 2011. Prime Minister's Science Prizes. New Zealand. Sharples rewrote senior biology courses at RBHS, and as winner of the PM's Science Prize, she received $50,000 reward, and a further $100,000 for her school. She also established, and was a director of Rotorua Boys’ High School’s Accelerate and Curriculum Enrichment (ACE) programme. Her initiatives reversed the decline in the number of students studying biology at the school, with Māori students’ results between 10 and 20 percent higher than the national average. Since 2006, Sharples has been Chair of the New Zealand International Biology Olympiad.'New Zealand International Biology Olympiad: Executive Committee'. Official site.
In 2016, 13 students from RBHS, a record thitherto for the school, including 6 students in Physical Education, gained a New Zealand Scholarship, placing them in the top 3 per cent of the country.Record scholarship exam result for Rotorua Boys' High. 23 February 2017. Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand.
The boys’ and girls’ high schools have collaborated on debates, plays and musical productions, such as Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2019,Te Mātārere: A Mid Summer’s Night Dream RGHS / RBHS Joint Production. Rotorua Girls' High School. and In The Heights in 2022.James, Shauni. (28 July 2022). Rotorua Boys' and Girls' high schools bringing In the Heights to life onstage. Rotorua Daily Post. Every year, the two schools combine as 'Raukura', a Māori performing arts group competing on a regional and national level. In 2016, a touring group of 51 students and teachers (including 46 performers) from Rotorua Boys' and Girls' High Schools toured for 16 days, showcasing Māori culture in Portugal.Raukura performers head to Portugal. 3 July 2016 • Te Ao Māori News. Rotorua.
In 2019, Rotorua Boys' High School won the Prime Minister of New Zealand Supreme Award for Excellence in Education, at the same time winning Excellence in Leading Award, making it the top school in the country for that year.Hostel puts Rotorua Boys High at top. 11 September 2019. Waatea News.Rotorua Boys' High School, 2019 Winner, Excellence in Leading. YouTube. Prime Minister of New Zealand 'Excellence in Education Award'. The school received a combined prize worth $59,000 along with professional development opportunities and representation at an international education event.Rotorua Boys' High School bags top prize at Prime Minister's Excellence in Education awards. 10 September 2019. Rotorua Daily Post. RBHS was also named Finalist, Excellence in Teaching & Learning Award.Rotorua Boys' High School, 2019 Finalist, Excellence in Teaching & Learning. YouTube. Prime Minister of New Zealand 'Excellence in Education Award'.
In the 2022 New Year Honours, the school's (now retired) principal Chris Grinter was appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit "for services to education and Māori after spending the 'vast majority' of his career dedicated to schools with high Māori populations". According to Grinter, Māori make up more than 75% of the school’s students. 'That means Rotorua Boys’ High educates "more high school-aged Māori boys than any other school in New Zealand".'
In December 2022, the CEO of the New Zealand Māori Tourism board pledged $10,000 to the Lion Foundation’s Raukura Rangatahi Fund as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme established to allow students to set up and run a real business. Two RBHS students had started 'Coffee Direct' in 2021 to serve teachers, support staff and students at the school, with customers ordering through a New Zealand-owned app called “On The Go”.Hunter, Zoe. (11 June 2021 ). More Rotorua business students competing in young enterprise challenge. Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand.NZ Māori Tourism head pledges $10k to Rotorua young enterprise's Raukura Rangatahi Fund. youngenterprise.org.nz website. Rotorua. The student business won the National Excellence Award for Rangatahi Entrepreneur and the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Award for Best Annual Review at the Young Enterprise Scheme National Awards 2022 at Te Papa Museum in Wellington.Hunter, Zoe. (15 December 2022). "NZ Māori Tourism head pledges $10k to Rotorua young enterprise". Rotorua Daily Post.
Two books about Rotorua Boys' High School's history by archivist Kevin Lyall have been published, the first in 2003Rotorua Plume: a history of Rotorua Boys' High School, 1880–2001 by Kevin J. Lyall . Goodreads and the second to mark the school’s 2014 centenary.The Empress’s Plume: Rotorua’s First High School: Rotorua Boys’ High School centenary, 1914–2014 by Kevin J. Lyall. . Goodreads
Principals
Rotorua District High School John Warn (1914–1915) Francis Wood (1915–1919) Thomas Tanner (1916–1918) (While Wood was serving in World War I) William Lewins (1920–1926) George Barber (1926) Rotorua High and Grammar School Aby Ryder (1927–1931) Bill Harwood (1932–1959) Rotorua Boys' High School Neville Thornton (1960–1962) Ted Hamill (1963–1979) Geoffrey Cramond (1980–1991) Chris Grinter (1991–2024)Makiha, Kelly. (9 June 2024). 'Rotorua Boys’ High School’s Chris Grinter on Jonah Lomu and his 33 years as principal'. Rotorua Daily Post. Rie Morris (acting, 2024) John Kendal (2025–present)
Enrolment As of , Rotorua Boys' High School has roll of students, of which (%) identify as Māori.
As of , the school has an Equity Index of , placing it amongst schools whose students have socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 2 and 3 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Houses
From 1927 till 2020, Rotorua Boys' High School's four houses were known as Drake, Frobisher, Nelson and Raleigh, after renowned British explorers and seafarers. At the end of 2020, in a climate influenced by the American Black Lives Matter movement, and supported by evidence that each of the four British namesakes had varying levels of involvement with slavery, the houses were given new names."Rotorua Boys' High replaces house names with slavery links with new te reo versions". 18 November 2020. 1News. New Zealand. These new names, which were also felt to be more relevant to the pupils of today, came into effect at the beginning of 2021:
Ngongotaha – red, formerly known as Drake Te Akitu a Raukura – yellow, formerly known as Frobisher Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahu – blue, formerly known as Nelson Utuhina – green, formerly known as Raleigh
Curriculum The school requires students in Years 9 and 10 to take seven core courses for the year, in addition to ten short courses. In Year 11, there are four compulsory subjects, with English being the only compulsory subject in Year 12. Year 13 subjects are all electable.Transformative leadership, impact and sustainability: Raukura Rotorua Boys' High School. Education Counts: 14 July 2023. Ministry of Education (New Zealand). New Zealand Government.Rotorua Boys' High School. Technical Notes and Definitions. Education Counts: Ministry of Education (New Zealand). New Zealand Government.Living the principle – Te reo me ōna tikanga at Rotorua Boys' High. Ministry of Education (New Zealand). New Zealand Government.Academic Programme. Official website.Learning Areas. schoolpoint.co.nz website. New Zealand.Pointon, Michaela. (4 November 2023). NCEA exams 2023: Rotorua students and nutritionist share study and nutritional tips. Rotorua Daily Post. New Zealand.
CORE COURSESYear 9Year 10Year 11Year 12Year 13English••••NoneTe Reo Māori•••MathematicsMaths CN, T3, 2012. Team Solutions: University of Auckland•••Science•••Social Studies••Physical Education••Health••
Year 9