Old Boy Appointed As Headmaster At Westlake Boys High School

Following a comprehensive international search, Paul Fordham has been appointed as Headmaster at Westlake Boys High School, one of New Zealand’s leading secondary schools based in Takapuna, Auckland. It is the first time the school has appointed an old-boy as Headmaster since its founding in 1962.

Chairman Andrew Nicoll says: “After a rigorous search with candidates from around the world and the country, we are thrilled to appoint Paul to lead Westlake Boys High School and take us from a long tradition of academic, sporting and cultural excellence to even greater heights. Paul’s experience in boys’ education has equipped him with invaluable insights into the boys’ school environment. To appoint an old-boy of the school is the icing on the cake. We are proud that this demonstrates the school’s ability to develop outstanding leaders from within and reinforces its culture of excellence.”

“Westlake Boys High School is one of New Zealand’s premier secondary schools by every standard and Paul is the right leader to pick up this mantle and lead us into the next era of excellence. Given his familiarity with staff, students, parents and stakeholders he is also able to hit the ground running. We couldn’t be happier with this appointment,” said Mr Nicoll.

Current Headmaster David Ferguson says: “I have worked with Paul for four years and am thrilled for him and for our entire school community that he has chosen to step into this role – he is an inspirational and highly capable educator and the school is in excellent hands,” says Mr Ferguson.

Paul Fordham says: “I have a deep respect for our traditions of excellence in every area and I am looking forward to forging the future of the school with the students we serve and the phenomenal teachers we have. We aspire to be the best, and this vision is reflected in the quality of what is on offer. We know relationships are critical with boys, and they've got teachers here who care about them, a culture which promotes courage and high expectations, and world class resources and facilities to ensure what we offer is suitable for meeting their needs. This helps them grow into well-rounded young men who excel in the world beyond school.

“It is an honour to be appointed Headmaster at Westlake Boys High School and to be able to continue to drive strategic initiatives that help our boys to succeed. Students will be at the heart of decision making and our practice will be adaptive to reflect their needs. Developing the professional capacity of staff to this cause will also be a priority. Staff here go above and beyond for our boys and that will continue,” he says.

Paul Fordham succeeds David Ferguson who served as Headmaster for 15 years and is taking on a long-signalled new role as CEO of the newly founded The Teachers Institute in the New Year.

Mr Fordham will officially begin as Headmaster on day one of the first term in 2025.

About Paul Fordham

Following his graduation from Westlake Boys High School he studied a Bachelor of Physical Education at the University of Auckland and continued with postgraduate study in Social Theory with particular interest in Masculinity. He spent the past 12 years teaching in single-sex boys’ secondary education on Auckland’s North Shore in both the state sector and Catholic sector. Paul also spent a year teaching at Surbiton Girls High School in the United Kingdom.

He has held various areas of responsibility throughout his time in education including leading a physical education department, being a senior dean, managing school-wide property, coordinating and maintaining school-wide health and safety procedures, being the director of sport, music and performing arts, a Deputy Principal and Associate Principal. His main area of responsibilities up until now have been pastoral care and ensuring Westlake is a safe and healthy place of learning for the student body.

About Westlake Boys High School

At Westlake Boys High School, excellence is more than an aspiration, it is the foundation of our culture. For more than six decades, this culture has shaped generations of boys into men who are now pillars of their communities across Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Because of this commitment to our foundation of excellence, we have had the rare achievement over our long history of consistently ranking as not only one of the leading all boys’ state schools in the country, but one of the leading schools in New Zealand by every standard.

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