St Peter's School, Cambridge

Learning is outside the box at St Peter’s

St Peter’s, Cambridge is a different kind of learning environment.  With space to learn, space to grow and space to think differently, students are prepared for a new and exciting future.

With a proud educational tradition, stretching back to 1936, St Peter’s is one of the most respected co-educational, independent boarding schools in New Zealand.  The founder’s foresight secured over 100 acres of prime rural land in the Waikato to establish a boy’s boarding school.  Now, almost 85 years on, St Peter’s is the largest co-educational day and boarding school in New Zealand with a roll of over 1100 students, ranging from Years 7 to 13.  The split of boys to girls is roughly 50/50, a ratio the school works hard to maintain, to enable equal opportunities for all students.

Principal Dale Burden has been leading the St Peter’s team for five years and says the essence of the school is its’ outstanding sense of community - “The school is often described as a village, where everyone is helping one another to reach their potential to be the best that they can be. We have some of the most talented teachers in the country and, whilst we recognise that academic achievement is the most important aspect of a child’s education, we take a holistic approach. Students are encouraged to take part in the wider life of the school; we have a strong sports programme, an extensive outdoor education programme and an outstanding visual and performing arts offering.”

Students can choose between the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma – this dual pathway caters to different learning styles and results over the past few years have been impressive.

The facilities are beyond enviable, students have their own chapel, Harry Potter-style dining hall, equestrian centre, heated swimming pools, auditorium, velodrome, business and entrepreneurial centre, golf driving range, a fully equipped sports centre and is surrounded by its’ own demonstration dairy farm – Owl Farm.

Over the past two years the school has introduced a Wellbeing Curriculum which serves to give students the life skills required in this fast-paced world.   Wellbeing themes and toolkits are common place and during the recent lockdown, both sports and wellbeing staff delivered weekly toolkits to the students to keep them focussed and upbeat.