A former Timaru teacher and principal who has dedicated nearly half a century to education has been recognised in the the 2026 New Year honours list.
After teaching for 47 years, 34 of those as a principal, Ian Poulter has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Mr Poulter was the founding principal of Bluestone School, the result of a merger of Timaru West and Timaru Main schools in 2005.
He oversaw the construction and governance of the Timaru Technology Education Centre between 2006 and 2020.
He also played a key role in the establishment of Timaru North and South Kāhui Ako in 2017, working as joint-lead principal to foster collaboration among the schools.
The Community of Learning now comprises 17 schools and 21 early childhood centres.
Mr Poulter said he was surprised and humbled to have been recognised for his work.
‘‘As you think about it though, you also appreciate that a lot of people supported you along the way. So, really it’s recognition of a team effort over many years.’’
He said education had been an amazing career.
‘‘I started school at 5 and never left until I retired at 67. There’s been so much change, so even though you’re in one job you end up with many facets and many different things in it.
‘‘Working with people is pretty rewarding and I think there’s not a lot in life that’s more pleasing than seeing children benefit from great opportunities that you can provide collectively.
‘‘You feel very proud when you see students that you’ve taught go on and do great things because they followed their interests and you’d like to think that you had a small role to play in encouraging that. There’s a lot to have enjoyed in education.’’
Mr Poulter was born in Oamaru but moved to Timaru when he was 6 years old.
After attending Teachers College in Christchurch, he went on to teach at 14 schools in Canterbury, Otago and Southland.
‘‘Some of those schools earlier in my career were country schools and I think that’s where you learn your craft, you are very much part of the community. I think you develop a wide range of skills there, preparing you for the bigger jobs later on.’’
After spending five years at Watlington Intermediate, Mr Poulter then moved to Timaru West School, unaware of the looming merger.
‘‘We literally went from a school of 300 to a school of 600 overnight. There were some great challenges which kept the job pretty exciting.
‘‘We had the opportunity to draw communities together, to create a new school, to develop a sense of pride and belonging, because we had no existing identity as a combined school.
‘‘We were fortunate probably through the merger, which was one of the larger mergers in New Zealand, that we were given good funding.
‘‘That allowed us to make sure that students got a widerange of opportunities, not just academic, but in arts, culturally, sporting-wise, and actually being able to use technology to problemsolve.’’
Mr Poulter moved on from Bluestone School in 2020 to take on the role of principal at Pītau-Allenvale School in Christchurch, a specialist school supporting neurodiverse learners and students with complex needs.
‘‘It was a big change and a different sort of challenge. To me it was an opportunity. We built a new base school, which I’m really proud of and it has been a model that other specialist schools have wanted to follow.’’
He also led the school to expand its reach, with satellite classes in Rangiora and Christchurch so more families could access specialist education closer to home.
He left the school at the end of 2024 and as of the end of 2025 he said he was now fully retired.
‘‘I had been still doing some work last year in Auckland and Christchurch with specialist schools. But I’ve now made the decision to fully retire.
‘‘I want to pursue my mountain biking and outdoor bowls interests and I want to spend more time with my grandchildren, which a lot of people want to in retirement. I’m really enjoying that.’’
