Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate was established by its namesake in 2001 and opened by Sir Edmund Hillary in 2004.
There are three distinct levels of schooling on our one campus which offer ‘the complete education experience’ while also being governed by one board of trustees.
This means large families pass through our school making it easier for whanau to transport their tamariki to school within the different age groups.
‘Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate students are nurtured by a culture of respect, inspired by teaching, and empowered by learning to become global lifelong achievers’
Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate students and teachers hold our three main values of utmost importance. These are reflected in the descriptions below:
- Excellence – by having high expectations and persevering in the face of difficulty.
- Whanaungatanga – by working with all for a common good of cultures, languages and the environment.
- Respect – by respecting learners, teachers and ourselves.
These values at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate provide a seamless values system during the students’ educational pathway from year 1 to 13 students.
We will show these values in our collegiate by:
| Excellence | Whanaungatanga | Respect |
| Perseverance | Love | Encouragement |
| Reliability | Kindness | Trustworthiness |
| Courage | Friendship | Helpfulness |
| Responsibility | Caring | Confidence |
| Patience | Generosity | Humility |
| Unity | Honesty | |
| Cooperation | Tolerance |
We at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate endeavour to challenge ourselves just as Sir Edmund Hillary has, which made him adapt to tough situations and become stronger. Without struggle then when adversity arises we may not be ready for what life throws our way.
Sir Edmund Hillary leaves us with three quotes to ponder as we row the Collegiate Waka together:
- ‘It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.’
- ‘People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.’
- ‘You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things — to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.’
Lets’ take a look at the life of Sir Edmund Hillary
July 20, 1919: Edmund Percival Hillary born in Auckland to Percival and Gertrude.
Education: Two years at Auckland University.
1935: School trip to Mt Ruapehu ignites interest in mountaineering.
1936-43: Works as beekeeper.
1939: First major climb: Mt Olivier in the Southern Alps.
1944-45: Navigator in RNZAF for Catalina flying boats in the Pacific in World War II.
1949: Climbs in Austrian and Swiss Alps.
1951: NZ Gawhal Expedition in Himalayas; British Everest Reconnaissance.
1952: British Cho Oyu Expedition in Himalayas.
May 29, 1953: Summits Mt Everest with Sherpa Tenzing.
1953: Knight Commander OBE.
1953: Marries Louise Rose. Children: Peter, Sarah, Belinda.
1958: Uses tractor in first overland journey to South Pole since Robert Scott.
1961: Establishes the Himalaya Trust.
1967: First ascent Mt Herschel, Antarctica.
March 1975: Wife Louise and daughter Belinda die in accident in Kathmandu.
April 1985: Accompanies Neil Armstrong to the North Pole, first person to stand at both poles and atop Mt Everest.
1985-89: NZ High Commissioner to India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
1987: Inducted into Order of New Zealand.
1989: Marries June Mulgrew.
1995: Knight of the Order of the Garter.
2003: Returns to Nepal, 50th anniversary of Everest ascent.
2004: Officially Opens Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate
January 2007: Returns to Antarctica for 50th anniversary of Scott Base establishment.
April 2007: Last trip to the Himalayas
May 2007: Ranked New Zealand’s most trusted person in survey.
January 11, 2008: Dies in Auckland of heart attack, aged 88.