Church College closes its doors after 51 years

MARK TAYLOR/ Waikato Times

LAST DAY: Church College students Emily Rose and Wineera Elkington with principal Lloyd Keung at the school.

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The dormitories and classrooms are empty, the campus is quiet and the packing up has started at Temple View.

Hamilton's Church College of New Zealand officially closed yesterday, ending 51 years of secondary education. The closure of the school was announced by the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints in 2006, and it has not taken in new junior students since.

The campus' future remains unclear.

Principal Lloyd Keung – at the school since 1971 – said staff and students had been mentally and emotionally preparing for the closure, and he had worn his Church College tie every day for the final term.

"We're all ready for the move. It's going to be a different scenario for everybody, but we're okay with that.

"But even though they know it (closure) has been coming, they think `this is it'. This is a family organisation, so in that sense people are very close – it's hard when it comes time to disperse," he said.

The campus had been strangely quiet in recent months, "but we learnt to get used to it".

Some older staff members would retire, others had employment offers from state schools while some were in a category Mr Keung described as "undecided".

Each staff member received a photograph of the school and a small wooden memorial (with the school's beehive logo) marking their service. Some would return to tie up loose ends in coming weeks, "and they want to finish the job they're asked to do".

Students who sat the final exam at the school received special certificates, and photographs were taken as they left the classroom.

Mendenhall Library manager Philip Hague said the last week at the school had been emotional and difficult: "I've shed tears. I've seen the growth of young people who have become adults  progress in their life, serve missions, married in the temple. That's what this school has been all about."

A former teacher, Mr Hague's connection to the school goes back more than 25 years, and his four children have all attended Church College.

Mr Hague spent recent days packing up and recording an inventory of 17,640 library items  most of which are destined for other Mormon schools in the Pacific, as well as local schools. He has also been documenting the school's final weeks for its last yearbook.

Emily Rose, a 17-year-old student body counsellor whose father was a student and whose grandfather had been a deputy principal, said students had been "trying to make the most of it" in their final year, although some were saddened by the impending closure. Students had grown closer as the role shrank, she said. "One friend of mine actually started crying, because it was her final exam at Church College."

Wineera Elkington, a 17-year-old member of the school's final first XV rugby team, agreed: "It's sad seeing everyone go."

The school's final event is tonight, when a concert will be held to mark the school's closure.

Senior leaders of the Church and volunteers who helped build the school will be attending.

- © Fairfax NZ News