Westlake Boys High School (Māori: Te Kura Tuarua o Ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto) is a state secondary school for boys in Forrest Hill, Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in 1962, when Westlake High School (opened 1958) split into Westlake Girls High School on the existing site and Westlake Boys High School on a new site. Serving Years 9 to 13, the college has 2,773 students as of July 2026.
In 2025, Paul Fordham, an ex-pupil of the school, was appointed as the school's eighth headmaster. He replaced David Ferguson who served as Headmaster for 15 years.
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Westlake Boys and Girls
Physically a few hundred metres apart, Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys engage in a joint annual theatrical production, participate in several joint musical ensembles (including a joint choir, two orchestras, a concert band and a jazz band), and some social dances, among other things. The two schools share a motto – Virtute Experiamur – "Let Courage Be Thy Test" in Latin.
Enrolment
As of July 2026, the school has a roll of 2,773 students, of which 258 (9.3%) identify as Māori.
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 399, placing it amongst schools whose students have the fewest socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 9 and 10 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Academic pathways
Westlake Boys High School uses the National Certificate of Educational Achievement to assess students. Until 2019, it also offered Cambridge Assessment International Education as an option, but this was phased out from 2016.
Sporting
The school's teams compete in all Auckland and North Harbour inter-secondary school competitions leading to regional, national and international championships.
Music and performing arts
The educational music programme covers performance, composition, analysis, history and aural skills. Along with the option of taking music as a subject, there is also a compulsory Year 9 course, focusing on the appreciation of music and drama in everyday life through theoretical and practical exercises, which runs for multiple weeks throughout the year.
The school has a number of performing groups: a choir ('Voicemale'), 2 Barbershop quartets ('The Lakeside Barbers' and 'Ken and the Men') a Concert Band, Stage Band, and Junior Symphonic band. Orchestral groups include the Westlake Symphony, Chamber Orchestra the junior Taharoto Orchestra and the boys' string groups Conchordia and Camerata. The performing groups have won awards at the annual KBB Music Festival (formerly the Auckland Secondary Schools Band and Orchestra Festival or 'ASSBOF'). Some groups, such as the Choralation Choir, which won the platinum award at the Big Sing Finale in 2009, 2010, and 2011 are combined with Westlake Girls High School.
Notable alumni
Arts
David Griffiths (composer)
Martin Henderson – film, TV and theatre actor
Rhys Mathewson – comedian
Don McGlashan – musician, The Mutton Birds and Blam Blam Blam
Tim Mahon and Mark Bell – founding members of Blam Blam Blam
Alex Taylor – composer, poet and writer
Business
A. J. Hackett – popularised bungee jumping
John Hood – Rhodes Scholar, former CEO of Fletcher Challenge, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland and of Oxford University
Environment
Winston Cowie
Stephen King – conservationist
Journalism
Duncan Garner – television journalist
Politics
Phil Twyford - politician
Science
Charles R. Alcock – astronomer, director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Sport
Thomas Abercrombie
Jarrod Kenny
Robert Loe
Sam Mennenga
Kirk Penney
Jack Salt
Corey Webster
Tai Webster
Yanni Wetzell
Andre Adams – former Black Cap
Billy Bowden – ICC cricket umpire
Paul Hitchcock – former Black Cap
Bevon Jacobs – New Zealand cricketer
Justin Vaughan – former Black Cap, CEO New Zealand Cricket
Lou Vincent – former Black Cap (National Cricket Team)
Willie Watson – former NZ cricketer
Robert Ironside – former captain All White
Neil Jones – former All White
Tommy Smith – footballer, All Whites
Nick Cassidy — New Zealand racing driver, current Formula E driver for Jaguar TCS Racing.
Michael Brake – 2021 Olympic Gold medallist
Andy Hay – 1984 Olympic coxswain
Barrie Mabbott – Olympic Bronze medallist rower