About Us

 Waihi College is a special place. When our international students return home, they tell us they feel like they have become one of us. With 750 students, Waihi College is big enough to be able to offer choices and small enough to feel like a family. Our international students become part of every aspect of school and community life and quickly make friends with local and other international students.

Waihi College has been hosting international students for many years and in that time we have learned that the greatest contribution international students make to our community is to help us understand that being different is what makes each and every one of us the same. When we recognize this, we become more tolerant of others, we accept others and we learn to be proud of ourselves. At the moment we have students from Japan, Norway, Netherlands, Thailand, Finland, Germany and Russia and we welcome the variety and diversity that they bring. We appreciate their help and in return we are committed to doing what we can to make their time here the best that it can be.

As well as being unique on the inside, we are unique on the outside. Waihi College is built on the site of the old Waihi Golf Course and enjoys huge grounds.

The Waihi region is rich in gold mining history and spectacular natural scenery. We have our own Kiwifruit orchard, dairy farm unit, expansive sports grounds, heated outdoor swimming pool and outstanding academic and arts courses and facilities. We are the only place in the world to have on open pit gold mine a stone’s throw from the town centre. We have Waihi Beach and Tauranga Harbour at our door step and Tongariro National Park three hours drive away. Our outdoor education and sports programmes are among the best in New Zealandand all this makes Waihi College an exceptional place and an excellent option for international students.