Peter Woods

Now in his seventh year of teaching here and serving as Co-Head of Religious Education, Peter’s connection to the College is lifelong — one that began with a great-uncle and spans generations of his own family.

Peter’s own journey began as a student in 1976 at the ‘Old Grey Mother’ – the Cambridge Terrace site. He was the middle of five brothers to attend the school and still recalls his ‘day one’ classmates, including current custodian Peter Amitrano and fellow teacher Mike L’Estrange.

Peter has strong and happy memories of his school days, including the ‘really old’ double desks. He played cricket, rugby, and basketball while at school. ‘There was no option not to play sport, unless you were medically unable to do so. Everyone played at least one sport. We would all walk over to Kilbirnie Park from the Basin for practice.’

He particularly remembers how excited the boys were to move to the ‘promised land’, the new site in Kilbirnie in 1979 (a work site he and his mates used as a playground before the school was completed). ‘I remember the walk over, how could you not. It was a moment in time for all of us.’ In my opinion, the school really took off then. We were so much better resourced, everything was modern. We attracted new families and we produced outstanding athletes. Fred Sawaya and John Jarvis (whose grandsons now attend the school) were phenomenal trainers of the boys. PE was solely orientated around producing athletes and this led to unprecedented success.’

Peter says he had no real idea what he wanted to do when he finished school – ‘let’s face it’, he laughed, ‘I lived for Saturdays and sport’. He ended up leaving Wellington for what was then Lincoln College (now University) to study a Diploma in Horticulture. From there he headed to Greenmeadows for experience in the vineyards and was drawn to joining the seminary. Eventually deciding that the Priesthood was not for him, Peter left the Hawke’s Bay as a teacher with two more degrees in hand.

From there, he headed abroad, working with troubled youth in the US before returning home and marrying his wife Cecilia. For a while, he owned a business, before moving into teaching. His faith and the Marists have remained a constant in his life and before coming ‘home’ to teach at St Pat’s in 2020, he also spent 10 years teaching at St Patrick’s College Silverstream.

While there have been many changes since 1976, Peter believes the heart of the school remains the same. To him, the defining theme of St Patrick’s is that ‘boys look after each other’. ‘The sense of belonging and togetherness is the same now as it ever was. These days we call it the brotherhood. You stay friends for life.’

With five sons and stepsons having followed in his footsteps at the College, Peter Woods is relishing being part of the new era in which he says the College has the opportunity to grow in faith, belonging and achievement.