Cambridge High School principal Greg Thornton, Board of Trustees presiding member Helen Martens, assistant principal Mike Cole and science faculty head Brooke Dillon
Cambridge High School has announced its new principal for the New Year, Greg Thornton.
Cambridge High School principal Greg Thornton (centre) celebrates S Block’s opening with Ngāti Korokī Kahukura representatives (from left) Rangipuhi King, Harry Wilson, Eugene Kara and Karaitiana Tamatea.
The Auckland native, who has spent the last five years as principal of Tin International College in Hong Kong, will shift with his wife and two kids back to New Zealand to commence the new role at the end of January.
The appointment comes after former Cambridge High School principal Phil McCreery retired earlier this year after 13 years as principal.
“Phil has done an outstanding job in leading our school and must take full credit for making the school the great place it is today,” said Karl Thornton, chairman of the Cambridge High School Board of Trustees. “He has built a very strong and capable leadership team who are continually searching for ways to improve the outcomes for our staff and students.”
Karl Thornton, who confirmed there was no relation to the new principal, said it had been “a lengthy but very thorough appointment process” selecting the new principal, gaining the help of an external consultant to conduct numerous consultation meetings with students, staff and wider school community to gain an idea of what was wanted in their new principal. “The interviews took the entire day and all those interviewed did an outstanding job, making our decision very difficult.”
Greg Thornton was the deputy principal at Mount Aspiring College in the South Island before his shift across the Pacific, and prior to that worked as a teacher and head of faulty at Takapuna Grammar, Manurewa High School and Rangatoto College. He now plans to set up base in or around Cambridge.
“For us as a family, living in Hong Kong has been a very rich experience for us all and, surprisingly, not just about skyscrapers,” he said. “For instance, we live in the mountains at the base of beautiful walking trails with resident wild pigs in the neighbouring jungle. We have also discovered a lot about other cultures and made a diverse group of friends. However, we have always wanted to come back home to provide our children the chance to grow up as New Zealanders are very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Cambridge community.”
