Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. As of March 2026, Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in New Zealand, behind Rangitoto College.
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History
Mount Albert Grammar was founded in 1922 as a subsidiary of Auckland Grammar School, but now the two schools are governed separately. Mount Albert Grammar School was originally boys only, but became co-educational in 2000. Junior classes (years 9 and 10) are mostly single-sex while senior classes (years 11 to 13) are all co-educational. The School's Latin motto is Per Angusta Ad Augusta, which means "Through Hardship to Glory". The school hymn, sung at all formal assemblies, was written by a student, J. A. W. Bennett, in 1928.
There have been a number of headmasters since the opening of the school, Frederick Gamble (1922–1946), William Caradus (1946–1954), Murray Nairn (1954–1969), Maurice Hall (1970–1988), Gregory Taylor (1988–2006, the first Albertian to become Headmaster), Dale Burden (2006–2015), and the current headmaster, Patrick Drumm (2016–).
The school's hall was opened on 11 March 1926 by Sir James Parr after construction during 1925.
After the opening of the school, a need for boarding accommodation for students became apparent. In 1927, the Mount Albert Grammar School Hostel opened for boarders at 807 New North Road. This hostel closed in 1970 and a new one was opened in 1971, built on one of the school's playing fields. This is a boys' boarding hostel called School House. It has full-time accommodation for up to 105 students during school terms.
During the Great Depression, the school introduced an agricultural course for familiar who could not afford four years of professional education. The school purchased 20 acres of the Kerr Taylor estate near Alberton with the help of a donation from the Auckland Savings Bank, and established a farm for students in February 1933.
In 1989, the school underwent major reforms under principal Greg Taylor, including the abolition of corporal punishment and the introduction of women teachers. Taylor employed support staff for Pasifika students, who increasingly made up a large proportion of the school in the 1980s.
In the year 2000, the school became coeducational, allowing girls to attend.
Academia
Mount Albert Grammar School pupils participate in various forms of academia, from year 9 to year 13.
In 2015, 93.8 percent of students leaving Mount Albert Grammar held at least NCEA Level 1, 87.7 percent held at least NCEA Level 2, and 67.8 percent held at least NCEA Level 3. This is compared to 88.4%, 79.1%, and 52.8% respectively for all students nationally.
Sports
In 2007 and 2009, MAGS won all the major Auckland titles in rugby, association football and netball. The First XI girls football and the Premier Girls Basketball also won their first Auckland Championships in 2009.
In 2008, one sports staff member and a parent coach were suspended by the schools' sport body College Sport and nine students who had transferred to the school were prevented from playing by rules designed to prevent poaching of young players. As a result, the school implemented a sporting Code of Conduct for all students, staff and coaches. This ultimately led to the dismissal of Director of Football, Kevin Fallon.
Culture and Arts
Mount Albert Grammar School is involved in many cultural activities, with their curriculum including music, dance, drama, and visual arts courses. In recent years, their boys' and girls' choirs have had success in regional and national choral competitions, receiving awards at the Big Sing Auckland Regional Festival in 2025. In 2026, their boys' Centennial Choir was announced as a finalist for the national Big Sing, held in Christchurch.
MAGS has its own school hymn, 'Dusk on the Walls', which is sung at all formal school assemblies, normally accompanied by live piano. It was written by MAGS student Jack A. W. Bennett in 1928. The lyrics to the hymn were analysed in a report written by Brian Murphy, the School Archivist.
Also within the cultural pillar is the school's Māori unit, Te Puna o Owairaka, made up of students from all year levels. The unit focuses on strengthening traditions among Māori students through the teaching of te reo Māori, kapa haka, and waiata.
Mt Albert Aquatic Centre
The Mt Albert Aquatic Centre was developed as a joint project between Mount Albert Grammar School and the Auckland City Council. It was officially opened by the Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1998. The facility contains a 25-metre competition pool with depths measuring from 1.2 metres to 3 metres, and a leisure pool that features wave motion and a water slide. The complex consists of other features visited by the public often. However, in 2016 the pool was noted to be unsafe due to its vulnerability to earthquakes. The pool is set to be either fixed or demolished in the next ten years.
Mount Albert Grammar School Farm
Since 1933, Mount Albert Grammar School has a 10.8-hectare (27-acre) farm adjacent to its school site in the middle of Auckland city. It is a fully working model farm, home to sheep, pigs, rabbits, cattle and poultry, cared for by a farm manager who lives on site. The land was owned by the ASB Bank, which leased the farm for 1 dollar every year until 2022, when ASB gifted the farm to the school.
Observatory
The school is one of a few schools in New Zealand with an active observatory and possesses a telescope open to students and the public occasionally. Completed in 2008, the observatory has a Meade Instruments LX200R 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain f/10 telescope. The observatory uses an SBIG ST7XME CCD camera for imaging and photometry.
The observatory is used for both school education and amateur research.
ERO report
In 2018, the New Zealand Education Review Office carried out a survey, finding that the school uses National Certificate of Educational Achievement and celebrates its students achievements through the Lion Awards programme. Its educational achievement level is above the national average, making Mt Albert Grammar one of the top seven schools in the country. The ethnic minorities of the school have shifted the balance since the 2015 review. By that, 91% of Māori and 85% of Pasifika students gained NCEA Level 2 in 2017.
Demographics
As of 2018, the school enrolls 2,991 students, out of which 57% are male and 43% are female. Out of those, 40% are of European descent, 23% are Asian, 19% are identified as Pasifika, 3% are MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African) and 2% are of other ethnicity.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni include:
Academia
Michael Bassett, QSO, NZ Medal – former senior lecturer in history at the University of Auckland 1964–1978. J B Smallman Professor of History at the University of Western Ontario 1992–1993. Former MP and Cabinet Minister
J.A.W. (Jack) Bennett – former Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University, 1964–1978. Fellow of the British Academy 1971. He is known for writing the school's historic hymn 'Dusk on the Walls'
Graeme Davies, KBE – former Vice-Chancellor of three universities: the University of London, the University of Glasgow, and the University of Liverpool
Peter C. B. Phillips – Professor of Economics at Yale University
Keith Sinclair – New Zealand historian
Art
Len Castle – potter
Peter Siddell – painter
Professor C. K. Stead ONZ CBE – poet, novelist and literary critic
Entertainment
Liam Thompson – YouTube personality
Government
Alan Bollard – Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Chris Liddell – Former Chief Financial Officer at both Microsoft and General Motors. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff during the first Trump administration
Robert Muldoon – Prime Minister of New Zealand 1975 – 1984
Industry
Woolf Fisher – Co-Founder of Fisher & Paykel
Sports
Michael Boxall – 2008 Summer Olympics participant and former member of New Zealand U-23 football team
Caleb Clarke – All Black
Jack Goodhue – All Blacks player, also plays for the Canterbury Crusaders and has represented New Zealand in Rugby Sevens and Under 20s
Kai Kara-France – mixed martial artist, UFC Flyweight division
Les Mills – Former Mayor of Auckland and athlete. Represented New Zealand at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games over two decades
Peter Snell – Olympic gold medalist – Athletics
Bryan Williams – Former All Blacks player
Sonny Bill Williams – rugby league player for the Sydney Roosters, Represented New Zealand national rugby league team, All Blacks and is a heavyweight boxer
Portia Woodman – New Zealand women's national rugby union team (sevens)