Te Kura o Tikorangi PORTLAND SCHOOL
Portland School is a small, well-resourced rural school located 10 minutes south of Whangarei. There is a kindergarten situated on the school’s boundary that serves the wider community. Most of the school’s students are transported to the school on the board-financed school bus. Eighty percent of students are Maori and many are of Nga Puhi descent.
OUR KURA
OUR COMMUNITY
Portland School is a product of the community growth as Portland Cement - now GBC - expanded as a thriving commercial entity. Before long, Portland community was increased as workers filled homes, with their whānau, extended whānau and children. As the technology for manufacturing evolved, and the need for more environmentally friendly methods became a priority, the need for manual labourers decreased as did the community population. Whānau moving away meant that almost all of the housing was sold or demolished. However, the school still stands strong today and many, many of those original whānau either still live in the community, or have connections to our kura. We are proud to now say we continue to teach the mokopuna of those whānau who made it possible for us to have our school.
Tikorangi is a hill to the west with a summit 161m above sea level. The major industry is Portland Cement, which is New Zealand's largest cement manufacturer. It has a specialised loading dock on the harbour, and quarries Tikorangi for lime.
