Hamilton Boys' High School

The Gateway programme has certainly paid off for Year 13 student Benoit Keast.
Benoit began his Gateway work experience placement with Sentinel Homes at the start of Term 1, attending one day each week to gain valuable hands-on skills and experience in the building industry.
Through his strong work ethic, positive attitude, and willingness to learn, Benoit was offered the opportunity to work during the school holidays. This soon led to him being offered a building apprenticeship with Sentinel Homes.
Congratulations, Benoit, on this fantastic achievement. We wish you every success as you begin your career in the building industry. A big thank you to Sentinel Homes for supporting Benoit and the Gateway programme, and for providing such a valuable pathway from school into employment.

Wishing all of our athletes luck this week no matter their code or grade 🙌 If you want to head along to support any of our teams, see our Tier 1 fixtures or check out the draws below to find out when your favourite team is playing in our most popular codes.
⚽Football - https://www.wssfa.nz/
🏑Hockey - https://www.playhq.com/.../waikato.../1092475c/teams
🏀Basketball - https://waikatobasketball.co.nz/competitions-draws-all...
🏉Rugby - https://www.sporty.co.nz/mooloo/community/draws-and-results See less See less See less See less See less

Our Sydney String Orchestra Trip which took place in the recent school holidays was an outstanding success, giving our talented musicians opportunities to learn, perform and sightsee across the ditch.

Over the course of the 11-day tour, HBHS students presented four full performances and one mini-performance across a variety of settings. A poignant highlight was their performance at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse cancer treatment hospital, where their music echoed through the central space to bring comfort to patients and staff. The ensemble also shared their talents with residents at Cardinal Gilroy Retirement Village, gave a mini-performance at the Sydney Youth Orchestra Winter Camp, and completed a collaborative school exchange with Cranbrook School.

To elevate their technical and artistic practice, students participated in masterclasses and workshops led by four expert practitioners: Brad Lucas at the Sydney Conservatorium, internationally renowned violinist Madeleine Easton, youth conductor John Ockwell, and Sydney Metropolitan Orchestra chief conductor Sarah-Grace Williams. The itinerary was further broadened by attending professional performances, including Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight at St Stephen’s Uniting Church, a Sydney Symphony Orchestra rehearsal in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, and an intimate Ensemble Q performance in the Utzon Room.

Between musical engagements, the group explored Sydney through visits to Taronga Zoo, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and a harbour ferry excursion to Manly Beach. Ngā mihi nui to the staff, host venues, and tutors who made this tour possible, and congratulations to our young men for the exceptional mahi and respect they displayed throughout the tour.

HBHS Old Boy Zak Hooper returned to the Multicultural Manaaki Centre (MMC) earlier this term to give a speech on his experience training as part of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Zak was a mentor in the MMC for five years, graduating from HBHS in 2024. In April of this year, Zak completed Recruit Course Training in Blenheim, a twelve-week programme testing mental fortitude and stress management. Immediately after this, he completed the sixteen-week Aviation Maintenance Fundamentals course in preparation for becoming an Aircraft Technician. This included creating a vice with only hand tools, with accuracy tolerances thinner than a human hair!

It was inspiring to hear Zak’s story as he recounted various training activities, like going 32 hours without sleep, and a simulated combat situation under enemy fire. He spoke of the strong whanaungatanga and brotherhood between all the members of the squadron, reflecting many of the values we pride ourselves on here at HBHS and particularly within the MMC. All of the boys in attendance greatly enjoyed Zak’s presentation and everyone took something away from it, whether it was a desire to follow in his footsteps, or a reminder of the shared connection we have together at this school. A massive thank you to Zak for taking the time to come and visit the MMC while on break from the RNZAF, and we wish him all the best as he begins his 44-week junior mechanics course in aircraft mechanics.

Hamilton Boys' High School is immensely proud to celebrate Zane Williamson, Nixon Banks, and Levi Banks following their impressive performances representing New Zealand at the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Brisbane last month.
Year 11 student Zane Williamson’s months of daily training, conditioning, and track work paid off in the 16 Boys division. Battling through tough qualifying rounds, Zane earned a fantastic result by reaching the 1/8 finals.
Meanwhile, in the 15 Boys age group, Nixon Banks (Year 11) delivered an extraordinary campaign to finish 4th in the world (W4)! Securing a top four spot globally is a remarkable feat that highlights the skill and commitment required to compete at the elite level.
Competing in the fierce 17–24 Men’s division, Levi Banks (Year 12) put on a strong performance against a field of older, highly experienced riders. Racing against the world's top talent on BMX's biggest stage is an impressive achievement that provides invaluable experience for his future racing.
Congratulations again to Zane, Nixon, and Levi on representing HBHS and New Zealand so brilliantly!

1st and 2nd XV Rugby Does The Double 🏆🏆

Our 1st XV and 2nd XV Rugby teams capped off incredible campaigns over the weekend to take home both Super 8 titles!

Training and travelling together every week, both squads earned their spots at the top of their respective tables before putting on a show in two thrilling finals that went down to the wire.

Playing in front of a passionate home crowd on the #1 Field, the 2nd XV boys dug deep on Friday after a fast start from Rotorua Boys' High School, showing immense grit to sn**ch the title 26-24.

The 1st XV then took on Napier Boys' High School on Saturday in a brutally physical, back-and-forth encounter. Both teams left absolutely everything on the field. In the end, a clutch Jackson Botherway penalty goal was the decider, sealing the victory at 13-12.

This marks the first time since 2023 that both teams have won the Super 8 double and - remarkably - against the exact same two schools. Huge congratulations to all the players, coaches, and supporters. We couldn't be prouder!

📸: Gus Conradie

The continued success of our cross-country athletes extends far beyond weekday school fixtures as evidenced by the following results during the recent school holidays.
Competing in the U18 division, Max and Jack swept the top two spots at both the Waikato Cross Country Championships (6km) in Kihikihi and the North Island Cross Country Championships (5km) in Taupō, with Max securing 1st place and Jack finishing a close 2nd in both.
Joining them in the winner’s circle at the same events was Year 10 runner Daniel Mumby, who competed in the U16 division across both venues. Daniel earned a commanding 1st place in the Waikato Championship (4km) before backing it up with a superb 2nd place at the North Island Championship (3km).
Rounding out the results, Jacob Liu finished 4th in the U18’s 6km race.
Congratulations to Max, Jack, Daniel and Jacob on their impressive achievements over the break!

🥉🏀Third Place for Senior Prem Basketball in Tough Super 8 Competition
Last week saw an exciting calendar event for our Senior Premier Basketball boys where we got to test ourselves against the Super 8 schools, and took out third place.

The team started the tournament off with a well-constructed win against a quality Tauranga Boys' College side at home before falling short to Napier Boys' High in the second game of day one. While managing injuries and sickness throughout the team, we were able to fend off a physical and strong Gisborne Boys' team before stepping into the fire pit against the eventual winners in a semi -final against top-ranked New Plymouth Boys' High.

Day three saw us playing for 3rd and 4th, and we were able to regroup and lean on our leaders to pull us through the final game to secure a comfortable win to take third place, which is an amazing accomplishment for our team. We fought bravely in the face of adversity and everyone left there best on the floor each game. Well done to all the boys and thank you to the coaching and management staff. We are already looking forward to next year as the host school!