NZCT has awarded a major grant of $150,000 to Francis Douglas Memorial College in Westown, New Plymouth, for a new, multi-purpose sporting and events centre.
College Principal Tim Stuck said, "Our current sports hall was built by our community and the boarders at the school in 1962, but in the last twenty years our school roll has doubled. We have well and truly outgrown the hall’s capacity."
This new multi-purpose building is a large-scale, leading-edge facility that will provide a state-of-the-art sporting and performance venue, inspiring current and future students in their respective fields of interest. Multiple work spaces will allow different groups to gather and learn in dynamic ways, enabling flexible learning to take place throughout the school day and beyond, accommodating our growing student population and the enhanced learning required in today’s educational landscape.
The school recognises the importance of being able to host school functions, sporting, and cultural events for our students, their parents/caregivers, and our wider school community. Above the entrance of our school you’ll read the Lasallian inscription ‘Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve,’ reminding us that we are part of a larger community and our commitment to a culture of contributing and giving back.
This new and vital facility will provide current and future students and staff with much needed, high quality, future focussed, and collaborative learning spaces. Not only is this essential for improved learning experiences and outcomes, it will also provide our school with a central hub that champions school spirit and strengthens relationships with local hapū and iwi. We recognise the value gained from extending our connections beyond the school gate and are mindful of the positive and long-lasting impact for our community when we share spaces and experiences together.
Building connections and relationships (manaakitanga and whanaungatanga) are central to our philosophy and education provision.
Our school was founded by the community and this next stage is also a community project. As well as serving our student body, it is also our vision that this facility is shared with whanau and the broader community. There are not too many places in the city that can host 900+ people, and this state-of-the-art facility will be a place to gather, participate and connect for many within the school and our wider neighbourhood, city and beyond. Bringing people together encourages a sense of wellbeing and belonging.
This purpose-built facility will provide a learning environment that weaves together our values (Faith, Service, Community and Excellence) our proud history, the stories of our rohe (region) and our whakapapa. This will ensure all aspects of our school community are acknowledged and celebrated.
Francis Douglas Memorial College have completed planning, scope and design drawings working with local company, Boon Team Architects. Based on this scope, the project is estimated to cost $10-12M. The College has secured $8.5m and are now moving to the fundraising stage of this project, seeking $2.5M in funding to bring this exciting and much needed facility to fruition for the school and community. Our vision is to turn soil on this building in June 2024, with a completion date of late 2025.
This is a flagship project that will stand at the heart of the school for years to come, leaving an intergenerational impact. The facility will provide our students with foundational learning experiences that they can take forward into their future endeavours. This significant development allows us to teach and foster 21st century skills - collaboration and team problem solving, self management, the ability to work in flexible, fluid, and purpose-built spaces, and foster connections with local and wider communities. It is estimated to provide another thirty years of growth.
A Catholic College in the tradition of the De La Salle Brothers Our school Francis Douglas Memorial College, founded in 1959, has been administered since its foundation by the De La Salle Brothers in conjunction with the Catholic community of Taranaki, as a boarding and day school for Catholic boys. It was named after Father Francis Vernon Douglas, an assistant priest at St. Joseph’s Parish, New Plymouth, and later a Columban missionary in the Philippines. The College was integrated into the State system in 1982.
Students are primarily from the Taranaki province and approximately sixteen percent identify as tangata whenua. There are small numbers of Pacifika and students of Asian descent enrolled.
Francis Douglas Memorial College aims to provide education that:
- prepares young men for further education, work and life.
- fosters spiritual, academic, physical, cultural, vocational and social development,
- recognises and promotes the dignity of each student.
- is moral and caring.
- seeks to challenge its students to serve others, especially the poor, and to deepen a sense of responsibility for humanity’s future.
- provides for students with varied academic needs and diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds and does so in partnership with parents/whanau and all those who are committed to living the Lasallian heritage.
- develops policies and practices that promote an understanding and respect for all cultures and recognises the unique position of Māori as tangata whenua.
We look forward to hosting not only school functions, but also sporting and cultural events for the entire staff, student body, parents, volunteers, and caregivers, as well as our wider school community. This modern and innovative facility will provide multiple areas for the enhanced learning experiences so crucial in today’s current educational climate. Our current sports hall was built by our community and the boarders at the school in 1962, but in the last twenty years our school roll has doubled. We have well and truly outgrown the hall’s capacity.