Francis Douglas Memorial College

Francis Douglas Memorial College is an all-boys state integrated Catholic school with boarding facilities located in Westown, New Plymouth, New Zealand. The college was founded in 1959 under the leadership of the De La Salle Brothers, a religious order of brothers based on the teachings of St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. It is one of two secondary schools established by the Brothers in New Zealand, the other being De La Salle College, Mangere East, Auckland. The name of the school is dedicated to the memory of Father Francis Vernon Douglas, a missionary priest who was killed while doing missionary work in the Philippines during the Second World War. The school educates approximately 760 boys, 130 of whom are boarders. The 50th Jubilee of Francis Douglas Memorial College was held on Queen's Birthday Weekend, 2009.

Francis Douglas
Memorial College
Address
201 Tukapa Street,
Westown

New Plymouth

New Zealand
Coordinates39.0821°S 174.0533°E / -39.0821; 174.0533
Information
TypeState integrated secondary, day and boarding
MottoChristo Duce
(With Christ as our leader)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1959; 62 years ago
Ministry of Education Institution no.175
PrincipalTim Stuck [1]
Years offered7–13
GenderBoys
School roll786[2] (March 2020)
Socio-economic decile8
Websitefdmc.school.nz

Sporting

74% of students participate in at least one sport. The most popular sport at the school is rugby union, other sports include cricket, basketball, soccer, rowing, and athletic events. Annually, the school plays a rugby union match against major cross-town rivals New Plymouth Boys' High School, this being one of the major events on the school calendar.

Music

Francis Douglas Memorial College has a music department where bands develop their talents. Many students have performed in the annual Smokefree Rockquest competition, with bands from the College winning two Regional Finals. Students have performed at the G-TARanaki Guitar Festival[3] and were shown guitar skills by Uli Jon Roth.[4]

Teacher in charge of music:

  • Mr. Tobias Wright

Māori culture

The school runs cultural activities, such as the Annual Inter-house Haka Competition, and school camping trips to a marae.

The first inter-house Haka Competition was in 2010. Students register their names for the activity and each House performs their Haka with the school as an audience. The winning house is chosen by a judge who is a popular figure from New Plymouth.[5]

The school has a school Haka written by an ex-student Hemi Sundgrem which is about the founders of the school, Francis Douglas and the De La Salle Brothers.[5]

Teacher in charge of Māori:

  • Mr. Taare Ruakere

Colours
  • First XV rugby: red jerseys with gold trim.
  • First XI soccer: red shirt, white shorts and red socks.
  • U15 A rugby: gold shirt, blue, yellow, red socks.

The rugby jersey most identifiable as that of Francis Douglas Memorial College is royal blue with a thick red strip and thin gold trim strips across the chest. While this has been popularly adopted as the distinctive rugby strip of the school, it is only used in lower grades of competition.

Boarding

Lasalle House is the boarding hostel for Francis Douglas Memorial College.

Houses
  • Benildus (green)
  • La Salle (yellow)
  • Loreto (blue)
  • Solomon (red)

Notable alumni

Arts

Broadcasting

Public service
  • Steven Joyce - broadcasting entrepreneur; Member of Parliament (2008–2018); Cabinet Minister (2008–2017)

Science

Athletics

Cricket
  • Mike Sandle - Cricket[6]

Football

Rugby union

References
  1. "School Website". Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. "G-TARanaki 2010 Presents: Youth Rock". 12 August 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  4. "Gtaranaki 2010 - Sky Academy". gtaranaki.co.nz. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. "Inter-house haka a success". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax New Zealand. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  6. "Mike Sandle appointed new Black Caps manager". Stuff. 24 July 2011.
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