The Hornsby Pacific Education Trust
Supporting St Andrew's High School, Nuku'alofa, Tonga
NZ Registered Charity No CC 50259
Welcome to our website!
The Hornsby Pacific Education Trust was set up in 2014 to support St Andrew's High School, Nuku'alofa and the work which Simon and Rachel Tipping did at the school from 2010 to 2023. In earlier years this has included facilitating a large number of volunteer teams from New Zealand to assist the school with renovations, teacher training and administration. The Trust has also sourced donations of equipment for the school and shipped it to Tonga. Now the Trust's main activity is raising funds to assist families of students and ex-students in paying for their education at St Andrew's or at tertiary institutions.
The name of the Trust commemorates the fine work done by Reg Hornsby as Principal of St Andrew's in the 1970s, after a distinguished career as Headmaster of Christ's College and St Paul's Collegiate in New Zealand. With his wife Mary he rebuilt the school in the 1970s. They are remembered in Tonga with love and affection.
The aim of the Trust is to improve the quality of education offered by St Andrew's, and opportunities for further education, in order to help students make the best use of their natural gifts.
Why help St Andrew's?
All schools in Tonga are severely constrained by lack of funds, as well as a lack of quality teaching and administration. St Andrew's is the only Anglican school in Tonga. As a church school, it receives less government support than state schools do. It relies on income from fees, which families often find hard to pay. There is a government subsidy, but this is dependent on parents paying fees. The Anglican Church gives a grant, and the ex-students give generously each year to keep the school running. In spite of this, money is always very short.
We believe Tongan children have as much right to a good education as our own children, and we are doing what we can to help them receive it at St Andrew's.
Trustees: Simon and Rachel Tipping (Akaroa/Waikanae), Jonathan and Salote Austin (Wellington), Angus Ogilvie (Auckland)
Message from Simon and Rachel Tipping.
It's a pleasure to announce that Jonathan Austin and his wife Salote will take over leadership of the Trust. We are handing things over to them gradually during this year, but we hope to remain involved in some way. Salote has recently become a Trustee, to replace David Brown of Picton, who retired in 2022.
Jonathan and Salote are uniquely qualified to lead the Trust for a number of reasons. Jonathan heads the Pacific regional team at the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was NZ High Commissioner in Tonga when we first went to St Andrew’s in 2010, and has been supportive of our work at the school ever since, both as a trustee and friend. His wife Salote is Tongan-born, and has extensive family there. She currently works for MP Jenny Salesa. As well as these connections, Jonathan’s parents had a close friendship with Reg and Mary Hornsby, after whom the Trust is named. We can see many good things coming out of their increased connection with the Trust, and are grateful for their willingness to become more involved.
Jonathan and Salote have written as follows - "We were honoured when Simon and Rachel accepted our offer to become more involved in the running of the Trust. With your support they and the Trust have achieved so much, benefitting hundreds of young people. We were both teachers in our previous careers so have a strong belief in the foundational importance of education. This, combined with our connections to Tonga and the Hornsbys, provides strong motivation for our engagement. We recognise there are many deserving charitable causes but we hope you will continue to share our passion for the Trust's work, including because every dollar of your support goes directly to the school and its students. Malo 'aupito: thank you for your help."
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The Hornsby Trust relies on volunteer time and skills, and on financial donations to accomplish its annual projects.
The Trustees are most grateful to Jackson Russell, Solicitors, Auckland for their generous contribution in preparing the Trust Deed, and to Angus Ogilvie and Generate Accounting for their continuing provision of accounting services.
Please read on to see what has been accomplished so far, and what is planned for the future.
If you would like to contribute, please go to our "How to help" page.
Donations to the Hornsby Trust are tax deductible in New Zealand.
Click on these images to see our volunteers working with St Andrew's students. For more pictures, go to "What the Trust Does".
