Waimea College

Nau mai, Haere mai ki Te Kāreti o Wiremu Koroneho.

A very warm welcome to William Colenso College.

We are a small school located in the beautiful, sunny Hawke’s Bay region. Napier and Hastings are twin cities with a joint population of around 150,000 people. Napier is small enough to feel welcoming, but big enough to have many cinemas, shops and restaurants.

The great climate, beautiful beaches, mountains and rivers in the area are an adventure-seekers’ paradise. A fabulous classroom for all students to experience our awesome outdoor education programme and have fun as you learn. You can participate in a range of outdoor activities such as kayaking, rock-climbing, caving, surfing, tramping and mountain biking.

Reach your academic potential in our friendly, culturally diverse and welcoming environment. Māori culture is evident in our school’s activities, you will be welcomed with a pōwhiri (traditional Māori welcome) and you can learn Maori language, kapa haka and waka ama (outrigger style kayaks).

Make friends with the local New Zealand students as well as other international students from all around the world. William Colenso College is a co-educational secondary school of about 400 domestic students and around 20 International students.

Our warm and friendly Homestay Coordinator carefully matches you with a homestay family so you will have common interests and shared expectations and experiences. Your homestay family and a representative from the school meet you at the airport and fully support you during your time with us.

International students have access to a variety of events throughout the year. From our adventurous ski trip, to our 3-day Rotorua trip, to our three-week end of year programme which includes activities such as beach camp, greenstone carving, T-shirt printing, surfing and much more.

Go Green

As an acknowledgement of the impact flying has on Global Warming we have introduced our Green Tree Initiative. By donating NZD 100 to our local arboretum for tree planting you can be a part of this programme. Our high ropes courses are based at this arboretum so you can see where trees are being planted with your donation from way up high.

We Look forward to welcoming you to William Colenso College.

Learn - Laugh - Live - Love

Laugh

Experience our unique outdoor education programme and have fun as you learn.

Outdoor education is offered as a class and as overnight trips. Opportunities include: caving, kayaking, surfing, hiking, mountain biking, ski trips, high ropes, rock climbing - we have the highest indoor climbing wall of any school in NZ.

Learn

Reach your academic potential in a friendly, culturally diverse and welcoming environment.

Māori culture is evident in our school activities, everyone is welcome to join the Maori language, kapa haka classes and waka ama (outrigger style kayaks).

Vibrant music, dance, performance and visual arts scene, (photography, painting and design).

As a small school of about 450 students we only host 20 internationals from Europe, Asia and South America. We try to have a maximum of 6 students from any one country at a time.

Live

In sunny Napier, an attractive city close to the sea.

Small enough to feel welcoming, big enough to have many cinemas, shops and restaurants.

Surrounded by bike tracks connecting all the towns and close to great mountains and beaches for tramping, swimming and surfing.

Love

Making lifelong friends with our friendly staff, students and community.

Small classes and an individual educational learning pathway means you get a great education, whether you come for the outdoor education experiences or for academic prowess.

Our end of year programme includes activities such as beach camp, greenstone carving, T-shirt printing, surfing and much more.

You can soon read more here.

General Tuition Fees apply as shown in the Costs & Dates page.

See also the Costs & Dates page for other information on fees etc.

Homestay Fee

2025: NZD 285 per week.

2026: NZD 310 per week.

For 2025 dietary requirements (please enquire so we can find a suitable homestay for this) has an extra weekly cost of NZD 25.

For 2026 dietary requirements will have an extra cost per week of NZD 30.

Outdoor Education (Outdoor Leadership Course)

There are no extra fees involved for ODENZ students when participating in Outdoor Education classes.

Outdoor Leadership fees include hire of gear such as bikes, stoves and harnesses. We will loan you most equipment you will need for this course.

Overnight trips (unless they are international) do not incur extra costs for ODENZ students.

Green Tree Initiative (optional)

NZD 100 per term

Contingency Fund

Contingency Fund is required for each student. This amount covers expenses for trips etc. Unused funds will be returned to the student after departure.

Contingency Fund fees:

The contingency is usually enough to cover the cost of international specific trips such as the Term 2 Rotorua trip (about NZD 450) and Term 3 ski trip (about NZD 200).

International Student Applications contact:

Laura Jackson

Email: laura.jackson@colenso.school.nz

Physical Address:

21 Arnold Street, Onekawa

Napier, 4110 New Zealand

Enquiries by phone: +64 6 831 0180

Visit our school webpage to learn more: https://colenso.school.nz/