Aquinas College Tauranga, 183 Pyes Pa Road, Pyes Pa, Tauranga (2026)

21/09/2026

A huge shoutout to former Aquinas student Ollie Grosso, who was part of the New Zealand U-19 football team that won the OFC U-19 Championship in Samoa this month! ⚽

The Kiwis defeated Tahiti 2–0 in the final to claim their 10th OFC U-19 Championship title — and, in doing so, secured a place at the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Ollie found the net during the tournament, scoring in NZ’s 8–0 win over Tahiti in the group stage and again in the 6–1 semi-final victory over New Caledonia.

Now playing for Christchurch United FC, Ollie was at Aquinas from 2019–2021.

Congratulations, Ollie — what an achievement! We’re proud to see a former AC student representing Aotearoa on the international stage. 💚💛

21/09/2026

The annual Aquinas Christmas Shoebox Appeal is back again! We have signed up to donate 50 boxes this year to local children who would otherwise go without gifts this Christmas.

Each Tutor Class has been assigned two children/shoeboxes to provide for. Ask your Tutor Teacher next term whether you are to contribute cash or specific gifts. Watch this great promo video to get into the spirit.

Tauranga Shoebox Christmas, in partnership with schools and organisations, has identified 3,000 local children needing a shoebox this Christmas. To date, they only have Xmas shoebox donations for 1,960 tamariki, so please contact the group if you know someone who would like to take part.

It’s a blessing to spread some joy to these children. For many, this may be the only Christmas present they receive this year.

16/09/2026

🏁 Pump the brakes, whānau, you don’t want to miss this news! 🌍

Aquinas kart racers Nico Thomasen (Year 7) and Charlie Clarke (Year 8) are suiting up for NZ and heading to Europe to compete on the world stage. 🏎️

Nico has qualified for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal this November after dominating the NZ race series, winning all four rounds of the Micro Max class. He’s also had a standout season, claiming the NZ National Sprint Championship in the Vortex Mini ROK category and back-to-back NZ Karting Grand Prix titles.

Charlie will represent NZ at the ROK Cup Global Superfinal in Italy next month after finishing second overall in the NZ Rotax Challenge’s Mini ROK class, winning three of the four rounds. He also put in a strong performance for Aquinas at the 2026 NZ National Schools Champs, finishing fourth. Charlie will race with the AV Racing team in Italy.

Nico also qualified for the ROK Cup Superfinal, but has decided to focus on Portugal due to the cost of competing at both world championships. This also gives him the chance to race in the final round of the Australian Kart Championship, which he has competed in throughout the year.

For both boys, earning the right to represent Aotearoa on the world stage is an incredible achievement — and one we’re incredibly proud to celebrate.

Nico and Charlie are fundraising to help get them to Europe - please support their journey if you can.

Support Nico: https://tinyurl.com/35t82huk

Support Charlie: https://www.facebook.com/kartkidnz

Go lads, we’ll be cheering you on every lap of the way! 🏁🔥

16/09/2026

🏆 That’s a wrap on the 2026 Zespri AIMS Games — and what a week for Aquinas! 💚💛

Across 23 sports, our students competed against some of the best intermediate-aged athletes and performers from around the country. There were wins, losses, close finishes, comebacks, podium results and plenty of AC pride along the way.

Our students brought home 12 medals, reaching the podium in cross country, swimming, gymnastics, surfing, table tennis and indoor bowls. Along the way, they achieved Aquinas’ best-ever AIMS results in several sports, including boys basketball, girls football and netball.

From the courts and fields to the pool, stage and surf, our students repped the green and gold the AC Way — with sportsmanship, determination and pride. Congratulations to all our students, and our heartfelt thanks to the coaches, managers and parents who supported them throughout the week. 👏

Read our complete article for a full recap of how our athletes performed in each sport. Go to: https://www.aquinas.school.nz/2026-aims-games-recap/

15/09/2026

SILVER MEDAL FOR GIRLS DOUBLES! 🏓
Another AIMS Games medal for Aquinas — and this one makes history! 👏

Year 8 students Melchi Lukacs and Jess Radley battled their way through the opening rounds of the girls doubles competition on Friday, earning a spot in the gold-medal match.

The pair went on to claim 🥈 silver, bringing home Aquinas’ first-ever AIMS Games medal in girls doubles table tennis!

What an extraordinary effort from these two — he inati te karawhiu! 👏🔥

14/09/2026

Gymnastics | Takaporepore 🤸‍♀️

What a week for Year 7 gymnast Zoe Gardner!

Zoe took out 🥇 gold in the AIMS Games girls' open tumbling, beating a field of 50 competitors to claim the top spot!

She backed that up with an impressive 4th place overall in the Step 6 all-around, including 🥇 1st on floor and 🥈 2nd on bars. Superb strength and power - me ko Māui te tipua!

Meanwhile, congratulations to Lucy Byrne, who finished 10th in the tumbling — a fantastic result in a highly competitive field.

And Zoe’s season isn’t over yet! She’s now preparing for the NZ Gymnastics Nationals, being held in Tauranga during the upcoming school holidays, after earning selection to the Bay of Plenty women’s artistic junior team. 🇳🇿💚💛

One to watch, Zoe!

13/09/2026

🎯 Three Medals for Indoor Bowls! 🥉🥉🥉

Aquinas has enjoyed a record-breaking AIMS Games result in indoor bowls, bringing home three bronze medals! 🙌

Year 7 student Isaac Francis made history last Wednesday (Sept. 9), winning Aquinas’ first-ever indoor bowls medal with an outstanding bronze in the singles.

Isaac finished third out of 235 players, winning eight of his 10 matches to reach the podium. Facing a field made up mostly of Year 8s, he dominated the early singles rounds before keeping his cool as the pressure mounted in the elimination rounds to produce a brilliant performance in the bronze medal match.

“He was playing really good bowls. I was really impressed,” said AC coach Brian Pointon.

Our other finalist, Mikey Francis, was narrowly eliminated by last year's singles champion.

And the medals kept coming! Isaac teamed up with his brother Mikey to claim bronze in the pairs. The brothers lost just one match all competition before being narrowly beaten by the eventual gold medallists in the semi-final. They bounced back just an hour later to win the third-fourth playoff and claim bronze, finishing third out of 113 pairs. 👏

Billy Frater and Leo Henderson also qualified for the pairs finals and put in a strong effort before being eliminated.

To top it all off, Aquinas was awarded third place in the overall team rankings.

Bowls newcomers Maddison and Sophia Elgar, Ruby Judd and Tara Seuser all worked hard throughout the tournament, each picking up wins.

What a week for our indoor bowls team! 🥉🥉🥉 Ka mau te wehi, team! 💚💛

11/09/2026

🏑 Hockey Finishes Sixth at AIMS!

What a tournament for our Aquinas hockey team! 💚💛

The team has wrapped up an impressive week at AIMS Games in sixth place overall, exceeding expectations and giving us plenty to celebrate.

One of the tournament highlights came in the Round of 16 against Bucklands Beach Intermediate. In an incredibly tight contest, the teams traded goals before finishing 3-all at full-time and heading to a three-player shootout.

Harry Nelson and Oliver Dalton calmly slotted their one-on-ones, while Cillian Byrne was outstanding in goal, keeping out two Bucklands Beach attempts to seal the win and send Aquinas into the quarter-finals — a fantastic achievement!

The quarter-final against Ōmokoroa was tough, and our opponents played a physical style of hockey that we struggled to adjust to. We went down 4-1, but the team showed great resilience, bouncing back with an impressive 3-1 win over Feilding Intermediate.

Today, the team faced Cobham Intermediate in their final game, going down 2-0 to finish the tournament in sixth place.

With six wins from nine games and a place in the Top 8, this group has achieved more than we could have hoped for.

And while the results have been fantastic, it’s their attitude, energy, passion, and genuine desire to improve that have impressed us most. They have represented Aquinas with pride and embodied our school values throughout the week.

What an incredible bunch; we couldn’t be prouder! 👏🏑

⚽ Victory over Local Rivals for Football Boys

By Reporter Alex Adsett
A 2-1 win over local rivals Papamoa today (Sept. 11) has seen our Aquinas football boys finish 37th out of 69 teams at AIMS.

That’s 14 places higher than last year — a fantastic step forward for the team! 👏

Coach Shane McMah said the team gave an “outstanding performance” and played excellent football.

It was the team’s ninth game in five days. A total of 69 teams competed.

Captain Jack Turner was happy with the win over Papamoa, a team they have played twice this season.

Well done, team; you all played brilliantly! 💚💛

11/09/2026

Record-breaking Results for Football Girls

By Reporter Heidi Opie
The AC girls football team has had a spectacular AIMS tournament, climbing to eighth place on the leaderboard - the highest result for our school.

The team narrowly lost 2-3 to Havelock North Intermediate this morning (Sept. 11), ending an astounding run for a team that played together just six times before AIMS.

Earlier today, the girls came from behind to almost secure a win over Taradale Intermediate School, the tournament’s eventual sixth-placegetters.

Behind 0-1 for most of the game, AC equalised with just 20 seconds left on the clock following a brilliant corner cross from Esta Zame. They then went to play a penalty shootout, which AC lost 3-4.

Manager Jessica Phayer said the girls have been bringing energy and power to every match.

Co-coaches Lily Taylor and Harriet Milne said several AC members play together at club level, which added to the team’s skills and bonds with each other. They also highlighted the girls’ great team spirit.

Spectacular results, great job girls!

11/09/2026

🏀 AIMS Basketballers Finish 15th!

— By Reporters Olly Thom, Nevaeh Strode and Lorraine Schofield

Our lads have achieved Aquinas’ highest-ever placing in 5-a-side basketball at AIMS Games, finishing an impressive 15th of 84 teams!

The team topped their pool, progressed into the Top 32, then the Top 16 Premiership round — the furthest an AC team has ever made it at AIMS!

All week, the mostly Year 7 team has brought relentless, in-your-face defence, non-stop hustle and plenty of heart.

Today (Sept. 11), they wrapped up their AIMS campaign with their sixth win of the week, edging St Kentigern Boys’ 27-26 in a one-point thriller.

They bounced back strongly from a tough Thursday, showing dogged perseverance to battle back against Mt Maunganui and cut the deficit to 10 points (25-35). Earlier, Fairfield’s quick passing and pinpoint shooting proved too strong in a 35-11 loss. Fairfield went on to finish 9th.

After yesterday's Fairfield game, Coach Hale said the team played an “amazing, fast game," with our lads’ quick dribbling and sharp passing on full display.

What a week from our AC boys! 💚💛

Aquinas College Tauranga

21/09/2026

21/09/2026

16/09/2026

16/09/2026

15/09/2026

14/09/2026

13/09/2026

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The School

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request