He Waka eke noa - a canoe that travels as one

The four School Houses were established in 2023 to foster 'BC pride' and build greater connections between our students across the school. We want everyone to feel a sense of belonging and pride in their house. There will be numerous fun events and activities run throughout the year where students can come together to showcase their talents, celebrate their teamwork and support each other in both competitive and non-competitive activities.

The four trees representing each house are all found in the top layer of the forest. They are known to be strong and resilient, and were selected as the embodiment of what we aspire our students to become: confident, resilient and caring young adults. We also acknowledge the challenges they have faced on their journey to finally reaching the canopy. The four trees are different physically, representing the different people of our whanāu, with each bringing their own unique strengths and gifts. 

The trees are all anchored in the same earth and represent the importance of the extended whānau in our local community in providing stability and support. Our School House whakataukī (above) speaks of a canoe that represents the wood from our four trees that has come together to enable us to build a strong waka, with all the necessary tools and utensils to continue their journey through Birkenhead College and beyond the gates.​​​​​​​

The core values of our houses are our BC values of whānau, pride and respect.