I attended King’s from 2012-2016.
In response to the bullying, sexist, and racist culture that some people have associated with King’s College:
- Sexism:
I’d say sexism has really died down in recent times (2013 onwards), and more specifically since the introduction of Girls at Year 11 last year. Both students and staff no longer see it as “a boys’ school,” but rather one that promotes gender equality.
- It’s one of the first schools (to my knowledge) to allow both girls and boys to perform the Haka at the same time.
- In terms of Prefectship, the amount of girls and boys who were school prefects was very similar to the respective ratios of girls:boys at the college last year.
- The ratio of girls:boys has increased significantly in recent times, and will continue to increase in the near future.
- I think after Amanda’s year (2015), Head Girl is definitely seen on par with Head Boy.
I would say that yes the sexist culture you are referring to used to exist - girls were sometimes even put down with chants like “this is a boy’s school” at sports events etc. The only reason for this was that King’s was in fact a single-sex male school. However, this has now changed, and as a result the chants have ceased to exist. The school’s philosophy has really adapted to embrace both genders equally, forming a cohesive learning environment.
To potential parents of girls: I’d say that King’s offers an equally good education regardless of gender, and remains to be one of the best schools in the country. Girls are really not seen as inferiors in any way, and are welcomed in each and every aspect of the college, especially as King’s continues to increase the female student body.
- Racism:
“There has been a fairly mind blowing trend that has continued at King’s for nearly 10 years in the selection of the top 5-6 deputy head and head prefects which is that there is always one and only one student from the Pacific Island/Samoan or Maori community.”
This is completely true, but I think that’s primarily due to the fact that no one has been seen as good enough to be Head Boy. I can’t name anyone over my time at King’s who didn’t get Head Boy or a Senior Role just because they "weren’t white."
I think the fact that “there is always one student from the Pacific Island/Samoan or Maori community” actually promotes anti-racism as opposed to what you suggest.
- Bullying:
Bullying occurs at every single school. I would say that NZHerald has a strong negative bias to degrade King’s College, which is probably seen as newsworthy, and thus more people hear about bullying specifically at King’s. I’m sure if you went to any other private/public school in the country, you would see a culture of bullying that far exceeds what he have at King’s.
I think with leadership changes and a bunch of new Headmasters, the school has really moved to create a safe, enjoyable learning environment that really doesn’t discriminate based on gender or race.