Awatapu College

Story

Awatapu College is a State Co-Educational Secondary School in Awapuni, Palmerston North, New Zealand.About the SchoolGeographyAwatapu College is located in West End, a suburb of Palmerston North, at the bend of Botanical Road. The area known as “Awatapu” started off as an Oxbow lake on the Manawatu River. It later became a lagoon that provided food and shelter to the local Māori of Rangitane. It also provided food for a variety of birds, pests and eels.History and DesignThe school was officially opened on 1 December 1976 as the fifth secondary school in Palmerston North. Like most New Zealand state secondary schools of the 1970s, Awatapu College was built to the S68 design, characterised by single-storey classroom blocks with concrete block walls, low-pitched roofs, protruding clerestory windows, and internal open courtyards.The name “Awatapu” was chosen because the school is located on the site of an ancient lagoon. It was an ancient name which celebrated a forgotten event in the history of the “Tangata whenua” — the Rangitane people, whose ancestors had for many centuries padded along the bush tracks or splashed up the creek from the river to enjoy the bounty of Awatapu. If that name had not been chosen, it would have probably soon been lost.EmblemThe wings of the emblem stand for the three main stages of early life: Learning to fly Then being able to fly under supervision Being ready to fly alone The half-circle underneath indicates a rocking position to remind us that life is not always stable.The V for victory reminds us to work for personal achievement.The rainbow under the college name reminds us there is always some colour around us if we are willing to look for it.