2015 Westlake High School Gathering

Westlake Boys High School hosted some very special guests on Friday 11 September at the 2015 Westlake High School Gathering. Undeterred by high winds and hail, fifty ‘Foundation’ students – who attended the original co-ed Westlake High School from 1957 to 1961 – gathered for assembly and morning tea.

After a stirring performance by Westlake Boys string orchestra Camerata, Peter Burn, himself a Foundation student and Chairman of Westlake Boys’ Board of Trustees for many years, addressed assembly. He recalled tales of school caps and canings, discipline and dances, lifelong friendships, and what a Westlake education has meant to him. Head Boy, Andre Jackson replied, remarking that many things have changed since those early days, but the Westlake spirit remains the same and a Westlake education is one to be proud of.

Morning tea in the Headmaster’s foyer gave everyone the chance to catch up with old friends and share memories and stories, as they looked through their yearbooks and searched for photos of themselves. David Ferguson and WGHS Principal Roz Mexted gave updates on the two current Westlake High Schools and several current members of staff joined the guests to share their Westlake experiences.

The first ever captain of the WBHS 1962 1st X1 hockey team, Don McEwan, was delighted to meet this year’s 1st X1 captain, Mitchell Ottow, whose team have just been crowned National Secondary School Champions after winning the Rankin Cup only last week. Also among the guests was Stuart Manins, the teacher who established the music department at Westlake High School. Stuart was thrilled to meet the current music teachers and hear of our recent musical successes, winning 5 Gold Awards at the 2015 Big Sing Finale and KBB Festival. Seeing the legacy of his hard work he commented that “this is exactly how I hoped things would be”.

A number of guests finished the morning with a tour of the school to see how much it has grown and changed since the boys first had some classrooms on this site in 1961. The tales and recollections of these first Westlake students are a treasured part of the history and heritage of the school.