Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 13 (ages 11–18). The College is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of Dunedin (1896–1918).
In 2024, 86.4% of Year 11 students achieved NCEA Level 1,88.6% of Year 12 students achieved NCEA Level 2, and 78.8% of Year 13 students achieved NCEA Level 3. In 2023, 11 students were given at least one Vocational Pathway Award.
History
Verdon College is a co-educational Catholic secondary school, established in 1982 through the 1981 amalgamation of St Catherine's College (a single-sex high school for girls operated by the Dominican Sisters) and Marist College (single-sex high school for boys operated by the Marist Brothers).
The Marist College site (which became Verdon College) was built on former farmland at the eastern boundary of Invercargill and opened in 1969. The new combined Catholic high school was named after Bishop Verdon. Due to the school's growth parts of the school are located on what used to be Cargill High and Te Wharekura o Arowhenua.
St Catherine's College dates back to 1882.
Bishop Verdon Block
In the mid-2000s, Verdon college acquired a gymnasium and a full-sized S68 design classroom block on the site of the former Cargill High School. A multimillion-dollar refurbishment of the acquired classroom block was completed in 2008 and named the Bishop Verdon Block, mainly for the year seven and eight students. It also contains two computer suites, a library, a science laboratory, and a study atrium.
Enrolment
Students practicing for the House Choir competition
As of July 2026, Verdon College has a roll of 696 students, of which 138 (19.8%) identify as Māori.
The college offers a broad range of educational opportunities for student achievement in the areas of sport and culture as well as a diverse academic curriculum.
As of 2026, the school has an Equity Index of 464, placing it amongst schools whose students have average socioeconomic barriers to achievement (roughly equivalent to deciles 5 and 6 under the former socio-economic decile system).
Inter-house Choir – Houses compete to win house points by performing a set song, as well as a song of their choice.
Inter-house Drama – Competitions are held each year for the best drama performance from each house, with house points going to the winning house.
Inter-house Haka – Each house performs the school haka, as well as a set song and a chosen waiata for house points. The 2022 competition is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFQPZ3ybdnI
Inter-house Lip Sync – Junior (year 7–10) students from each house choreograph and perform a dance routine to a song of their choice. As the competition is held in the second last week of the Junior school year, the winning performers house receives house points that are carried onto the next year.
Music Festival – Students compete in various junior/senior categories including: vocals, instrumental and group.
Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival – Each year, a number of students are selected to perform in the regional competition (Southland) against other schools in the area.
Other regional and national cultural competitions that students compete in are:
House Athletics Day – Interhouse athletics competition where houses compete for house points.
Southland-Wide Under 18 Competition – Verdon competes with other Southland secondary school First XV rugby teams in a competition spanning from April until August. Notable competition wins include the 2012 in which Verdon beat St Peter's College 15–12 in the final.
New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball – The Verdon Senior A Netball team are regular participants at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball competition and have won the nationwide tournament twice.
Quad Tournament – Verdon competes in an annual tournament weekend with St Peter's College, Kavanagh College, St Kevin's College and Roncalli College. Verdon has yet to have won a tournament weekend so far. There are both senior and junior tournaments, both at opposite ends of the winter season.
Swimming sports – Every year, students compete in various water sports for house points.
Year 12 vs Year 13 Rugby League – Each year, the two year groups battle for the unofficial title of the winners of the League Cup. This event is organised by the students.
Sports offered at the College
Verdon offers many sporting opportunities for the students, such as:
Badminton
Basketball
Cricket
Cycling
Dance
Football
Futsal
Hockey
Indoor
Bowls
Netball
Rugby
Softball
Squash
Volleyball
Waterpolo
Aerial Imagery
These images are of the Marist College now Verdon College site.
Douglas Sekone-Fraser – 2009 New Zealand Weightlifting Champion, Silver and Bronze in 2011 for the New Zealand Weightlifting Championships and 16th in the Junior World Championships
Pat Gallager, The Marist Brothers in New Zealand Fiji & Samoa 1876–1976, New Zealand Marist Brothers' Trust Board, Tuakau, 1976.
Sister Mary Augustine McCarthy O.P., Star In The South: The Centennial History of the New Zealand Dominican Sisters, St Dominic's Priory Dunedin, 1970.
K P Wanden & G R Latta The Marist Brothers in Invercargill, 1897-1997, Marist Jubilee Committee, Invercargill, 1997.
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