Onslow College

Wonderful staff who go the extra mile

If you have kids don't send them to Onslow. The principle does not care about the female students. but will believe the male students. Wants a high culture there but then has no way of helping those culture students when it comes to a way of learning that does not work. Majority of the good teachers have left. The ones who actually cared have left. There only like 3 good teachers left. In the last year of school i basically taught myself and barely got NCEA. Onslow needs to get rid of the new principle.

This school has gone downhill for everyone, all the teachers are leaving and being replaced over and over because of the principal and the hostile environment she has created. The school cares too much about its image and not the health and safety of its staff and students. Your kid will learn but it's not worth it, send then to Wellington High.

Wellington High School's wannabe younger brother. Performatively accepting and supportive but falls short on actually doing it. Mostly good teachers, mostly good staff, but just sort of a mess below the surface

Since the new principal started in 2018 things have deteriorated to an alarming level. Staff turnover is very high, indeed 5 staff resigned over the 2021/2022 summer holiday, and that does not include, those who left during the year, nor the more than 30 who left during 2020. These numbers include many who didn't last for a full 12 months. So, staff moral is poor. Others have commented on the state of the buildings and the physical campus environment (including cleaning or lack thereof), but I will pass on one anecdote where the principal was asked about the cleaning of the sports facilities and her response was "if you think it is unsafe stop practice". Hard to believe but true. Someone else may have addressed the cleaning !!

Sadly a complaint to the board chair went unanswered.

There are some individual staff who working extremely hard for their students.

Over the years they've been slowly taken away all of the extension classes that made me choose this school in the first place. The staff turnover rate is abysmal. Also the new bathrooms were trashed within 6 months and the principal doesn't seem to care about the 10 times (as of writing this) the fire alarm has been pulled this year (only the first two times were actual fires). There don't seem to be any consequences for this kind of behavior. However there are still some really passionate teachers who have helped me learn a lot. It's a shame knowing how great my experiences could've been.

This school is very run down and of poor quality, there are countless issues with the buildings yet they pay to paint it to make it look nice from the outside. The teacher turnover is horrific as the school seems to replace every teacher every year since they can't seem to stand the new principal. Up until the school got the new principal it was great. Since no one seems to want to work here the quality of the teachers has gotten worse and worse with some of them actually teaching the class once a month. Would not recommend going to Onslow anymore.

Best 5 years of my life, without a doubt. Ultimately, I grew so much as a person from going to OC. Forever greatful for everything I learned and went through in my time there. I’ve made and developed so many friendships that’ll last a lifetime. As someone that had/has so much passion for the school, it’s a shame to have been sent off in our final assembly last year like we were, it was a terrible feeling. However, that’s to do with the principal, as opposed to anyone else. Will always remember every moment of my 5 years there, and wouldn’t change it for the world.

For my experience in this school up until 2020, I personally had a really positive experience. I largely managed to avoid the drama that unfolded surrounding the principal, and it wasn’t until the final year where I felt her affect.

What made the school so good was the way it puts all emphasis on the student to push themselves to learn. The environment was that if you wanted to learn and thrive, there were great facilities that allowed you do to this. And if you wanted to sit and waste time, the teacher isn’t going to force you to learn. Ultimately, its better for most people in the long run. After high school, there is no teacher spoon feeding you the answers.

The new principal did not understand this way of learning. She looked at our results and decided from that there needed be an over turning of the way we do things. Without considering the actual consequences. Onslow scores below comparable schools for a reason. WGC and WC spoon feed their students and they get better results, which our principal has decided to replicate.

Unfortunately, the principal is making Onslow into just another school, depriving the future students of what made the learning so beneficial for us long term. Currently at uni, I am definitely grateful for the system that pushed me to learn more independently and the teachers that made me love the subjects I pursued here.

The school is fine, it’s large enough and there are enough people to just avoid anyone you don’t like. The school is very open and accepting to people from all walk of life. Some of the teachers are pretty poor but that’s the same with any school. Also the principal is bad currently but it doesn’t affect us on a daily basis

Good compared to most, not great

Some great staff and leadership over the years that my 2 sons attended however, the current Principal is appallingly lacking in communication and relationship skills for someone in a leadership position. Her rant at the Leavers Ceremony yesterday because of a prank that only a few students were involved in, lacked good judgement. The Principal had nothing positive to say to the more than 100 Year 13 students. Further she left immediately after her speech. I felt so sad that this is a memory that our fine young sons and daughters will leave Onslow College with. Whatever had happened, should have been dealt with quietly behind the scenes. Publicly denouncing the entire Year 13 group because of the actions of a few students was unacceptable. To the students credit, they showed remarkable restraint and self control in the face of such insult. A big thumbs up to the other staff members who turned the occassion around. A big thank you.

Spent 5 of the best years of my life and chose to send my kids here as well. I love the way the school encourages independent learning and not relying on spoon feeding, teachers really understand the importance of learning of oneself. Though, current principal is a tyrant. Used the year 13 leavers assembly to tell them off for some kid who did a prank too far. Such a horrible thing to do to the entire year group, made the day more bitter than sweet for my son. Hope she learns to be kind to her students, rather than purposefully putting them against her. But great school, my son loved his time here.

Kinda average but ok I guess

Only school that females can do maths accelerated, highest receiving science scholarships in Wellington.