Kia Hanga Mo Ake Tonu - Build Now for Eternity: a Life-history Analysis of Achievement of Maori and Pacific Island Students at the Church College of New Zealand

KIA HANGA MO TONU AKE - Build Now for Eternity was the school motto for the Church College of New Zealand, a private co-educational secondary school located near Hamilton, New Zealand. The school was sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since its opening in 1958, the school hosted a large population of Polynesian students, in particular Maori. The questions that this thesis centre on the nature, history and reasons for what seems to be a disproportionately higher level of achievement amongst Maori and Pacific Island students at Church College, than in New Zealand more broadly. The motivation for this project was the announcement in 2006 by church officials to close the school. Shortly after the completion of this project, at the end of 2009, the Church College of New Zealand was closed. This project will therefore serve as a reminder of a school that served its community well and for those who loved it, it will always be held in high esteem.