• Paul Fordham
  • Aidan Bennett and Paul Fordham

A chat with Paul Fordham

New Headmaster of Westlake Boys High School

Paul Fordham is the new Headmaster at Westlake Boys High School. He succeeds David Ferguson who served as Headmaster for 15 years and has taken a new role as CEO of The Teachers Institute. Paul is an alumnus of Westlake Boys. This is the first time the school has appointed an old boy as headmaster since its founding in 1962. Channel Mag’s Aidan Bennett went along to Westlake Boys in January to find out more about Paul Fordham, who got the big job after what the school’s board chair, Andrew Nicoll described as “a rigorous search with candidates from around the world and the country.” By all reports, there were a huge number of applicants from far and wide but the board settled for someone very close to home; Paul was most recently Associate Principal at the school.

I had never met Paul Fordham before meeting with him in his corner office on the first floor of Westlake Boys in January. It seemed only like yesterday when I sat down in the same office for a very similar interview with his predecessor, David Ferguson. Paul reminded me that it was 15 years ago! What struck me, however, very early on in our chat, is what a good choice the Westlake Boys board has made. David Ferguson clearly did a superb job in his long stint as Headmaster and the community was sad to see him go. But with Paul Fordham it feels like it is going to be business as usual, continuing with the fine platform that has been set.

Board chair Andrew Nicoll made that clear when announcing the appointment. “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.”
Paul Fordham is a big tall lad – well over six feet tall. He’s married to Sam and they have two young children, a son Arthur (4) and a daughter Frankie (1). They live at Hobsonville Point. He’s a keen runner and he has played competitive hockey. He also plays acoustic guitar. The Shore is home. He was born at North Shore Hospital and was brought up on the Shore. Family time is important to Paul – they enjoy going to the beach.
Paul Fordham started out as a PE teacher, studying for a Bachelor of Physical Education at the University of Auckland and continuing with postgraduate study in social theory with a particular interest in masculinity.
He has spent the past 14 years teaching in single-sex boys’ secondary education on the North Shore. Before returning to Westlake Boys, Paul was at Rosmini College. He also spent a year overseas 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, and as deputy principal and associate principal. His main area of responsibility until now has been pastoral care and ensuring Westlake is a safe and healthy place of learning for the student body.
Paul describes the Headmaster role at Westlake Boys as his dream job.
“I wasn’t anticipating that this role would come up, so it was a complete surprise when David announced he was moving on,” said Paul. “To be chosen as the first alumni to lead the school is a nice story. It really does give our students something to aspire to. Under David’s leadership, the school has flourished. My job is to work hard, to continue that good work. It is an honour to be able to enact change and drive initiatives which help our student body succeed.
“Students will continue to be at the heart of decision-making and our practice will be adaptive to reflect their needs. Developing the professional capacity of staff for this cause will also be a priority. Staff here go above and beyond for our boys and that will continue.
“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 clear that Headmaster Paul Fordham is keen for the school to continue to innovate. Two school initiatives that excite him are ‘OpenGround’ and ‘Future Sport’.
OpenGround is a programme for year 13 students to learn entrepreneurship and business. It encourages students' personal growth and equips them with the confidence and knowledge needed to pursue their entrepreneurial endeavours. Students gain practical experience by creating and running actual business ventures and getting first-hand exposure to the challenges and responsibilities of entrepreneurship. Each student is matched with a mentor and guest speakers come into the school bringing real-world experience and insights, providing invaluable inspiration and knowledge. During the programme, Dragons’ Den events are held where students are given the opportunity to pitch for legitimate funding. In 2024 there were 21 business ventures ranging from an AI-powered education app revolutionising teaching and learning, premium mousepads for gamers in need of a competitive edge, personalised dried flower gifts and decorations, a venue discovery tool for nightspots and venue owners in Auckland, and affordable high-quality sports jersey framing.
Future Sport is a programme designed for students who wish to blend their passion for sport with a fulfilling career in the sports industry. Future Sport aims to develop confident students of character who can make their mark in the sports industry, providing a supportive nurturing environment and equipping students with the skills, knowledge and industry insights to identify their unique pathway in the sports industry. It will do this through guided research, expert talks and site visits that encourage the personal growth needed to pursue their sporting endeavours. Industry experts and Westlake alumni are engaged in the programme for students to gain real-world insights into the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in sport. There are also site visits to see sports professionals in action. Participants are guided to develop career-centric processes like CV writing, goal setting, interviewing and brand development.
OpenGround is managed by Ant Ford, who has over 25 years of business experience and a deep understanding of business and entrepreneurship. Future Sport is managed by Paul Strang who has over 25 years of sports experience.
Paul Fordham says that the school’s vision for these programmes is to be recognised as the "benchmark" and eventually rolled out to other secondary schools throughout the country. The school is currently working on another similar initiative related to the online gaming industry.
So what challenges does Westlake Boy's new Headmaster see ahead for the school?
“Holding on to the important traditions in a changing landscape is clearly one,” explains Paul. “Our community loves the fact that we retain many of those traditional values, standards and practices, with our school assemblies being an example.
“Recruitment and retention of staff is a challenge as well. No school is immune to the shortage of expertise, so there is a lot to work on in that area.
“Attendance is another issue that is not just a problem in New Zealand, but all around the world. Our attendance is 92%, still relatively strong, but down from 95% pre-Covid. We are keen to keep working on improving this.
“The popularity of the school and managing our roll [numbers] and facilities are also challenging. We currently have 2,800 boys at the school, which is pretty much at capacity for our facilities.”
When quizzed about how the government could improve its support, Paul says that infrastructure development is hugely important, particularly with the pressure on the roll numbers. This year the school has around 1,000 applicants for 500 places.
“We are lucky that with the support from many different parts of the school community, we have been able to fund some of our capital projects ourselves. But more support from the government is needed for the development of much-needed infrastructure facilities. Greater support and resources for students with learning challenges is much-needed as well.”
So what does Paul Fordham love about Westlake Boys High School?
“First of all, it’s my old school! The size of the school is a strength; there are things we can offer that others can’t, such as facilities and resources. We have a great culture that we are focused on preserving and enhancing. We have a strong and active alumni network, Westlakers, that is the best in the country. We also have regular alumni get-togethers overseas for those based in places like Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and as far away as London.

“This year we will also complete our brand new music and performing arts block. This will be an outstanding new facility linked to our auditorium for performance. This is overdue for our wonderful music and performing arts students. It will double the space we have for them. We are one of New Zealand's top schools for music and performing arts and we are excited about having the facilities to match.”
After spending an hour with Paul, it is clear that Westlake has made a fine choice with its new Headmaster. He says he takes the responsibility of delivering for the 2,800 families of the school seriously and is looking forward to the challenge.