Many parents consider whether sending their child to a private school is “worth it”. Looking into the history of New Zealand's private schools can help in answering this question.
The origin of private schools in New Zealand is surprising and their history is more a story of independence rather than elitism, says historian Grant Morris from the University of Wellington.
“We can see that by going right back and looking at where the private or independent schools began, and they began with the churches,” Dr Morris told Jesse Mulligan.
“So Protestant churches, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, and Māori schools specifically set up by the churches, and so before the ground-breaking Education Act 1877, which brought in the state, free secular education, what you're getting is effectively independent schools run by the churches.”
When the Act came into effect, things began to change for schools, Dr Morris says. The state decided it would start running early education and the beginning of secondary schools itself – while being free and secular.
“So the Catholic Church moves first, and it says, we're going to set up our own schooling system, it will be private, and it will be connected to the parishes and they did that,” Dr Morris says.
“The Protestant Church schools tried to get Bible in schools basically working within the secular system, it didn't work. So they formally allied themselves with existing schools and that's where you get King's College and Queen Margaret’s College and Samuel Marsden and those Protestant private schools that we know of today.
“But you also get Māori schools as well, which up until recently or fairly recently, were independent schools.”
Then came the state integrated schools – a sort of middle ground formed after some independent schools ended up running out of money and were helped by the state on the basis of certain conditions (Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975).
“The state [said] we will cover most of the costs, like teacher salaries, you guys will be responsible for buildings and so on. So it's a shared approach. As a result, you will take on the national curriculum, but you'll be able to keep your special character,” Dr Morris says.
“It was actually a really good deal for the schools because they managed to get most of their funding from the state, from the taxpayer, but they retain some of those key elements of being independent and, in particular for the church schools, they retain that ability to teach in a faith-based environment.
“So not surprisingly, since that time, we've seen other schools, Whanganui Collegiate is a well known example, Protestant private schools as well, enter into that state integration model.”
Catholic schools make up the majority of state-integrated schools, Dr Morris says, while the ones that remain private and independent are mostly old Protestant schools.
For example, Presbyterian ones like Scott's College and Queen Margaret, Anglican ones like King’s Christ, Samuel Marsden, and Dr Morris says they’re also more expensive as a result.
While in the UK many of the leaders’ education history can be traced back to private schools, it’s a slightly different story in New Zealand, Dr Morris says.
“I looked at all of the prime ministers and all of their schooling and two things came through. One was that many of the early ones were schooled in the UK. So if they went to private schools, then it would have been UK.
“But many of them didn't go to private schools, especially over the 20th century. And some of them didn't really go to high school at all. Or if they did, they only went very briefly.
“We should also mention that up until that state integration of the Catholic schooling system, the Catholic schools were obviously independent and also producing leaders as well.”
However, there’s still an impressive list of alumni from independent schools.
Christ College in Christchurch: William Hamilton (invented the jet boat), Denis Glover (poet), Sam Neill (actor), Michael Cullen (politician), William Pember Reeves (politician), Charles Upham (soldier).
Kings College in Auckland: Hugh Fletcher (business), Douglas Myers (business), Keith Park (soldier).
Auckland Dio: Dame Sian Elias (judge). Queen Margaret College: Shirley Smith (lawyer). Samuel Marsden: Katherine Mansfield (author).
But he says, arguably, the most impressive list of alumni are from state integrated schools - like Whanganui Collegiate and Te Aute College in central Hawke's Bay.
Te Aute College: Peter Buck, Apirana Ngata, Maui Pomare, Pita Sharples (politics), Howard Morrison (singer), Moana Nui-a Kiwa (soldier, VC), Thomas Ellison (rugby union player and lawyer).
Whanganui Collegiate: Lord Cooke of Thorndon (judge), Prince Edward, Arthur Porritt (Governor General), Harold Gillies (surgeon).
While the long list of alumni from state and state-integrated schools is impressive, Dr Morris says it’s important to note that the same could be said of state schools nowadays.
“We could look at schools like Wellington College, Auckland Grammar, Epsom Girls, and so many other state schools as well and we could do lists for them as well.
“But one thing I think is important to note is that private schools are very aware of this history and they’re very good, I suppose, at using it to encourage people to enroll and also, I suppose, giving their students a grounding in where the schools come from.”
