John Cowie, Graeme Cochrane, and Freddy van der Lee (L to R) are the team who are in charge of keeping the school site running and looking good.

We are very fortunate to have a great team of Property and Grounds staff at Hagley, who take great pride in their work.

Graeme Cochrane - Property Manager

Graeme has been working at Hagley for 15 years. He is Christchurch born and bred and, before working here, he worked as a tiler and plasterer in the Trades. 

Graeme enjoys the variety of work at Te Puna Wai o Waipapa. Every day is different, and he enjoys keeping the place running - coping with everything from floods and power outages, to building repairs and maintenance. Graeme is widely known for his "No Probs" response to just about any query - he simply gets on with all tasks very quickly and efficiently, and nothing really is a problem.

You may occasionally see a rather flash American muscle car at school - this is Graeme's main obsession outside of work. He is currently working on restoring a '68 Camaro.

Freddy van der Lee - Grounds Staff

Freddy is our longest-serving member of this team - he's worked here for around 18 years. Freddy was born in Holland, but left in his mid-twenties. Most of his adult life has been spent in Christchurch, after he followed two of his siblings here. He also spent a couple of years on the Gold Coast working in a landscape nursery.

Freddy loves being outside, he has lots of freedom and flexibility in his work, a good boss, and a great deal of autonomy. In his own words: "I love working at Hagley!" In his spare time, Freddy continues his love of the outdoors and is a very keen gardener.

John Cowie - Assistant Property Manager

John is the newest member of the team, having arrived in April 2021. Prior to that, he worked as a Graphic Designer for Ballantynes, and at the Christchurch Press as a Graphic Journalist. John also grew up in Christchurch, but spent around 10 years in the United States working in summer camps, which is where he met his wonderful wife, Lesley, who teaches in our English Language Learning department.

John really likes the relaxed environment of Hagley, he enjoys the diversity here, and the adult students. John is a skilled tradesperson in his own right, and he enjoys DIY projects at home. Visitors to the Hagley Preschool will see some of his handiwork on display in the new building.

Thank you to all the wonderful Support staff at Te Puna Wai o Waipapa / Hagley College for everything you do to make this kura the fantastic place it is.