Wesley in Metro
Wesley came in at 14th place in Metro magazine's list of the Top 25 schools in Auckland (August issue). Since 11 of the 13 schools ranked above Wesley were decile 10 schools - located in the city's wealthiest areas - this was a mighty achievement (Wesley is rated decile two). Anyway, the article provoked an orgy of toy-throwing from those schools that had dipped out. In the latest (September) issue of Metro, there's a heap of letters from disaffected Grammar boys and other born-to-rule tossers. Typical is this contribution from H. Saunders of "4b, Auckland Grammar School". The little cairn writes:
"Wesley College is credited with having a large reputation around its 1st XV and having a large amount of All Blacks. Auckalnd Grammar has a superior 1st XV, proved by our ranking of first place in the Auckland Secondary Schools rugby competition."
Well dear readers you'll be pleased that our Michelle Johansson, HOD of English at Wesley, chimed in with a far more eloquent effort:
"Dear Editor,
I am delighted you acknowledged in Making the Grade (August) the achievements of Billy Revell and Lauie Sila, the two Wesley College students selected as part of of the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company that performed at London's Globe Theatre earlier this year. I must confess to having a certain bias - I was Billy and Lauie's teacher - but I reckon anyone who loves the Bard would appreciate their talents.
While Wesley's rugby prowess is well-known - we'll always be known as "Jonah's school" - I think, sometimes, our success in other areas is overlooked. Our Tongan Group, for instance, recently won the Kailao and Me'etu'upaki sections at the ASB Polyfest and our students play a major role within the greater Methodist community. Of course, academic performance is (quite rightly) the major measure of a school's success and here we have worked very hard to lift our game. I am glad Metro has recognised our efforts and honoured that you see us as one of Auckland's Top 25 schools.
Our students mightn't have a lot of money, but what they do have is heart, talent and no shortage of commitment. Sure we'll never have the resources nor numbers to compete with the Auckland Grammars of this world - we have 350 students compared to their 2,500 for a start. But we'll continue to do what we do best - give kids from a range of backgrounds the opportunity to be the very best they can be. And that, surely, is the true measure of a school's worth."
Stirring stuff!
"Wesley College is credited with having a large reputation around its 1st XV and having a large amount of All Blacks. Auckalnd Grammar has a superior 1st XV, proved by our ranking of first place in the Auckland Secondary Schools rugby competition."
Well dear readers you'll be pleased that our Michelle Johansson, HOD of English at Wesley, chimed in with a far more eloquent effort:
"Dear Editor,
I am delighted you acknowledged in Making the Grade (August) the achievements of Billy Revell and Lauie Sila, the two Wesley College students selected as part of of the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company that performed at London's Globe Theatre earlier this year. I must confess to having a certain bias - I was Billy and Lauie's teacher - but I reckon anyone who loves the Bard would appreciate their talents.
While Wesley's rugby prowess is well-known - we'll always be known as "Jonah's school" - I think, sometimes, our success in other areas is overlooked. Our Tongan Group, for instance, recently won the Kailao and Me'etu'upaki sections at the ASB Polyfest and our students play a major role within the greater Methodist community. Of course, academic performance is (quite rightly) the major measure of a school's success and here we have worked very hard to lift our game. I am glad Metro has recognised our efforts and honoured that you see us as one of Auckland's Top 25 schools.
Our students mightn't have a lot of money, but what they do have is heart, talent and no shortage of commitment. Sure we'll never have the resources nor numbers to compete with the Auckland Grammars of this world - we have 350 students compared to their 2,500 for a start. But we'll continue to do what we do best - give kids from a range of backgrounds the opportunity to be the very best they can be. And that, surely, is the true measure of a school's worth."
Stirring stuff!
posted by Commander at 11:00 am
2 Comments:
Bloody good effort Mitch! I'm glad that you stuck it them. We all both past and present do our best to make Wesley what it is. At last we are getting some positive recognition.
Perhaps Mr Saunders needs a small dose of sympathy given the reference to rugby and naught else. Given the sheer magnitude of Grammar’s school fees it is no wonder that they may have a tendency to produce the elitists of tomorrow. Armed with tunnel vision I suspect they have little awareness of how empowering it can be to achieve in the shadow of familial poverty. Granted Wesley’s students aren’t ALL disadvantaged however how many do you know of that sit in class with their laptop versus a pen purchased from the school office? I applaud those staff responsible for enabling our students to dodge another damning arrow shot by ERO – you are the unsung heroes!
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