Araura College

Araura College is a state funded school on the island of Aitutaki. It has a student roll of about 190 students. Araura College was first established as Aitutaki Junior High School back in 1963. It catered for the students from Aitutaki, Mauke, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Pukapuka and Penryhn. Students from these sister islands stayed with their relatives... residing on the island of Aitutaki. The school offered both academic and vocational programmes from Forms 1 to 4. The school had a mere roll of two hundred students with ten teachers. In 1977 the school was upgraded to a college status with the introduction of the New Zealand School Certificate Prescriptions. A three year course designed for the average New Zealander to achieve. However, it was taking an average Cook Islander four years to accomplish such feat. So, Form 5 and a second year fifth Form was introduced. The school roll escalated to an amazing three hundred and fifty with twenty-four teachers. Soon Form 6 was introduced with the intentions of completing secondary education on the island. Sadly for our Form 6 class the quicker it came in the quicker it went out again, due to a fast declining population. With the students from the sister islands being redirected to the main island of Rarotonga, Araura College declined in numbers also. The school roll now in 2013 stands at 187 with sixteen teachers. The school now offers accredited programmes through the umbrella of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Araura College is situated right in the centre of the island of Aituaki on a parcel of land perpetually given by the landowners to the Ministry of Education for the sole purpose of education for many more generations to come.Read More