Botany Downs Secondary College is a state coeducational secondary school located in East Tamaki, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 2004 as a result of new residential development in the eastern Auckland area. Serving Years 9 to 13, the school has a roll of approximately 1914 students.[1]
History
Botany Downs Secondary College was announced with a notice published in the New Zealand Gazette by Education Minister Trevor Mallard on 12 November 2001, with the working name Howick South Secondary School.[3] The school opened in January 2004, initially taking Year 9 students only. The remaining school years opened as the 2004 Year 9 students moved through, with the school fully opening at the beginning of 2008.
Logo
The logo design uses the circles of the Beta and Delta characters from the Greek alphabet.
The inner circle represents the student.
The outer circle represents the nurturing and educating by the teacher.
The overlapping circles echo the traditional role of the educator and the student.
The outer shape links the circles, envelops the whole school community and is pointing towards the future.[citation needed]
Whanau system
The Whanau system in BDSC contains 4 Whanau, with the later addition of Britten and Koru.
Koru Whanau (Green)
John Britten Whanau (Black)
Spirit Whanau (Purple)
Discovery Whanau (Blue)
Endeavour Whanau (Yellow)
Sir Peter Blake Whanau (Red)
Demographics
Roll by year level and ethnic group, as of 1 July 2023
Funding year
level
Māori
Pacific
Asian
MELAA
Other
European/
Pākehā
International
students
Total
Year 9
22
27
200
19
6
121
4
349
Year 10
17
29
195
13
4
125
17
356
Year 11
25
40
216
21
3
167
28
428
Year 12
20
24
178
13
2
114
16
331
Year 13+
12
23
156
17
0
89
10
270
Total
96
143
945
83
15
616
75
1,734
In the 2023 Census, 54.5% of students ethnically identified as Asian, and 35.5% as European/Pākehā. Other major ethnic groups include Pacific (8.2%), Māori (5.5%), Middle Eastern, Latin American, African (MELAA) (4.8%), and other (0.8%). International students were included but separated, with 4.3% of students having been affiliated with an international status.[4] The roll data presented is based on roll returns from the Ministry of Education as of 1 July 2023, reporting over 1,734 students, including domestic students who are affiliated with a single or multiple ethnic groups and international students.[5]