Waitakere College is a secondary school located in West Auckland, New Zealand. It caters for students from year 9 to year 13. Students entering the college are allocated into one of three "Houses". The house names use Māori words: Aroha (Love), Manawanui (Perseverance), and Matauranga (Knowledge). During the course of the year students can earn points for their house with good behaviour in class and good marks. These points are added up every week in a house assembly to determine the winner for that particular week. This also happens at the end of terms and a final one at the end of the year shows which house has won that year with the most points. Waitakere College offers an extra 'Performing Arts' option run by Stephen Nightingale. Entry is based on an audition process and the course runs for years 9 and 10. It covers drama, dance, music and singing, theatre, film/television, editing, theatre lighting, make-up and costume. As part of the course, students are required to take part in the school's annual musical.