Francis Douglas Memorial College
| Francis Douglas Memorial College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
201 Tukapa Street, Westown, New Plymouth, New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 39°04′56″S 174°03′12″E / 39.0821°S 174.0533°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State integrated, boys only, secondary with boarding facilities (years 7-13) |
| Motto | Christo Duce 'With Christ as our leader' |
| Established | 1959; 65 years ago |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 175 |
| Principal | Mr. Martin Chamberlain |
| School roll | 735[1] (February 2024) |
| Socio-economic decile | 8 |
| Website | fdmc.school.nz |
Francis Douglas Memorial College (or FDMC) 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. The name of the school is dedicated to the memory of Father Vernon Francis 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.
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. Teachers such as Peter Ingram, Tim Stuck, Steve Simpson have taught sport to the students and there have been notable sporting students such as All Blacks Conrad Smith and Beauden Barrett
Music
Francis Douglas Memorial College has a music department where bands develop their talents. Many students have performed and done well in the annual Smokefree Rockquest competition, with bands from the College winning the last two Regional Finals. Students have performed at the G-TARanaki Guitar Festival[2] and were shown guitar skills by Uli Jon Roth.[3]
Maori 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.[4]
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.[4]
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
The school has boarding facilities for years 9-13. The boarding hostel is called La Salle house, in recognition of the heritage of the school. The hostel has a dorm for each year level.
Houses
- Benildus (green)
- La Salle (gold)
- Loreto (blue)
- Solomon (red)
Notable alumni
- Patrick Gower - journalist for New Zealand Herald and NewsHub journalist.
- Steven Joyce - broadcasting entrepreneur and Minister of Transport
- Anthony McCarten - author, playwright, screenwriter
- John Mitchell - All Black, former All Blacks coach, Western Force Super Rugby team coach
- Conrad Smith - former Hurricanes captain and former All Black
- Frank van Hattum - New Zealand football (soccer) international
- Deacon Manu - New Zealand Maori Rugby and Fijian International.
- Beauden Barrett - Taranaki 1st Five-eighth, Hurricanes and All Black
- Scott Fuglistaller - Wellington Lion, Melbourne Rebel. (Rugby Union)
- Leon Power - Taranaki rugby Bay of Plenty rugby ACT Brumbies Super rugby.
- Liam Coltman - Otago rugby, Highlanders.
- Carl Carmichael - Taranaki rugby, King Country Rugby, Tasman Rugby and NZ Heartland Rugby Team.
- Jordie Barrett - Canterbury rugby and Hurricanes super rugby team.
- Scott Barrett - Canterbury rugby, Crusaders Super Rugby and All Black
External links
References
- ^ "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "G-TARanaki 2010 Presents: Youth Rock". 12 August 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - ^ "Gtaranaki 2010 - Sky Academy". gtaranaki.co.nz. 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Inter-house haka a success". Taranaki Daily News. Fairfax New Zealand. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.