Taupō's Tauhara College appoints Ben Hancock as new principal

Tauhara College has appointed Ben Hancock as new principal. He will start in term four.

A new principal has been found for Tauhara College - and it's someone who knows the school very well.

Ben Hancock, who is currently the Kaitaia College deputy principal, attended Tauhara College as a student for five years from 1992.

Ben will start as Tauhara College principal in term four.

Board of trustees chair Julie Yeoman said recruiting a new principal was a five-month process, with community consultation from the outset to develop specifications for the job description.

Education recruitment specialist Graeme McFadyen was brought in to secure the process. He is familiar with the school and is involved with the review process for the school's senior management.

"It was a long process. We wanted to consult with the wider community, not only with the staff and students, to see what qualities they wanted in a new principal," said Julie.

She said previous principal Keith Buntting had done an excellent job laying the groundwork for a new principal to drive the school forward. More than 20 people inquired about the job, and 15 applications were received.

"I was told this was a good number of applications to receive."

There were several applications from overseas candidates. Julie said they were unable to pursue these candidates due to the onset of Covid-19. A shortlist was made, and Zoom interviews were held. Final interviews were delayed for one week until the country went into Covid-19 alert level three and face-to-face interviews were possible.

Julie said Ben Hancock had indicated that being principal would be a way to give back to the community where he had been a student during his high school years.

"He certainly has the passion for the school," said Julie.

The new principal brings a range of experience to the role, having had a long stint at Wesley College where he was head of department for physical education and coach of the 1st XV. Ben has served two terms as a rep on the Board of Trustees, and one term as chairman of the Pukekohe High School board of trustees. He also brings experience as an acting principal and is the co-leader for the Northland Kāhui Ako.

"He clearly has the will to give back to the community and can see the potential that Tauhara College has," said Julie.

Ben says he is immensely proud to be appointed the Tumuaki of Tauhara College.

"The foundations that Tauhara provided me have set me on a lifelong journey of learning. I am excited about the future of the college and the aspirations that we all collectively hold," he said.

He says he is looking forward to getting to know all of the staff and students within the kura and building strong relationships in the community.

This year, the school has been led by acting principal Phil McCreery. Julie says they have been lucky to have such an experienced management team on board for the lockdown.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, she said the staff had done an outstanding job providing for the students' needs while they were learning from home.

Ben will be accompanied by his primary school teacher wife, Dominique Hancock. The couple have two sons, who are both at university.