Tupou College is a Methodist boys’ secondary boarding school in Toloa on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga. It is located on the Eastern District of Tongatapu near the village of Malapo. The school is owned by the Free Weslyan Church of Tonga. Established in 1866 by James Egan Moulton, it claims to be the oldest secondary school in the Pacific Islands. Enrolment is some 1,000 pupils. Tupou College was first established at Nuku’alofa at the location on which Queen Salote College stands today. From there it moved to Nafualu, Sia’atoutai on the site where Sia’atoutai Theological College now stands. In 1948, the school last moved to Toloa in the Eastern District of Tongatapu where it still stands today. Tupou College’s Brother school is Newington College which is in Sydney, Australia.
The College has a 750-acre (3.0 km2) campus, on which crops of vegetables and fruit are grown. This includes an area of forest noted in Tonga as the Toloa Rainforest Reserve containing a variety of plant species endemic to Tonga as well as those no longer found in other parts of the kingdom. The forest is far smaller in size today then when they first moved there because of the construction of the airport, University of the Nations at Lafalafa and clearance for extra farmland. Tree planting projects have been carried out in the previous years within the forest to ensure the survival and continuous growth of the unique species found at Toloa.
The school offers the following programme of studies and services;
- Tonga National Curriculum for Form 1 to Form 7
- An international Curriculum for Form 1 to Form 4
- A TVET programme Level 1 to Level 3 in Carpentry, Electrical, Plumbing, Welding, Mechanical Engineering, Horticulture and Music.
- Academy services in Sciences, Commerce, Music, Sports, Christian Fellowship and Cadet
- A Student Learning Centre with learning and ICT support
- A school reception with a campus support helpdesk (ph: 37294 or 37034)
- Tour sites such as the Toloa Rainforest, the Moulton Chapel and Farm projects
- A Sunday devotion with heavenly sounds of the Tupou College gospel choir and bands
- A fully equipped medical sick-bay for students’ comfort.
- Sleeping dormitories for students with living quarters for single staff
