Roncalli College is a

Catholic college Catholic higher education includes university, universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by Religious institute (Catholic), religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy ...

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

, New Zealand. It was named after

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

, whose birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. It is a co-educational college with approximately 500 students from Year 9 to Year 13, and it is situated on Craigie Avenue, next to the Sacred Heart Basilica. It is set on of land with 13 free-standing buildings. It practices NCEA examinations for its senior students. In 2005, 87.7% of Roncalli students achieved NCEA Level 1, 70.3% achieved Level 2, 71.2% achieved Level 3, and 66.7% achieved university entrance. It has a high participation rate in sports, with netball, rugby, basketball, and especially rowing and mountain biking among the most popular sports. Other available sports are badminton, volleyball, soccer, tennis, cricket, and hockey, among others. While there is a strong focus on sports, cultural activities include occasional hakas and church services. It also has a large foreign student population, with some students coming from Europe, South America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Roncalli College was awarded the 2006 Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) grant. A program award was won by Roncalli College, Roncalli College was awarded the 2006 ''Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) Programme Award'' by EONZ for its years 10, 12, and 13 outdoor education. Roncalli College was awarded the 2006 ''Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) Program Award'' by EONZ for its years 10, 12, and 13 outdoor education programs.

History

Roncalli College was created by merging St. Patrick's High School and Mercy College in 1981. Roncalli is now on the site, and most of the buildings are remnants from the days of the single-sex schools. St. Patrick's was the local high school for Catholic boys, run by the Marist order, and Mercy College was the local Catholic school for girls, run by the Mercy sisters, from their convent, which was situated on what is now the rugby field, also known as the Thunder Dome. The schools were separated by the "Iron Curtain" or "Brown Curtain", a corrugated iron fence that ran the length of the boundary between the two schools, which kept the boys and girls separated. The penalties for being on the wrong side of the fence were rather severe; any boy caught on the wrong side of the fence without a valid reason was invariably caned. In the last days of St. Pats and Mercy, the pupils from St. Pats were instructed by the rector to tear down the fence as a prelude to amalgamation. The event was photographed and featured in the ''

Timaru Herald ''The Timaru Herald'' is a daily provincial newspaper serving the Timaru, South Canterbury and North Otago districts of New Zealand. The current audited daily circulation is about 14,500 copies, with a readership of about 31,000 people. The pap ...

'' newspaper. In October 2007, Roncalli College celebrated its 25th Jubilee.

Notable alumni

Bronson Beri Bronson Beri (born 26 June 1989) is a New Zealand former basketball player. Early life Beri first attended Roncalli College in Timaru before moving to Nelson to attend Nelson College. NBL career Beri made his debut for the Nelson Giants in ...

– basketball player *

Deborah Geels Deborah Geels is a diplomat from New Zealand. In 2013 she was appointed Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna. She is currently based at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington. Early life and education Geels was ...

– diplomat

Notes

External links

Roncalli College Website
{{Schools in Canterbury Educational institutions established in 1982 Timaru Secondary schools in Canterbury, New Zealand Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand 1982 establishments in New Zealand