King's College is committed to promoting the use of computers and the Internet to help deliver teaching and learning resources to all of its students. It is essential, and therefore compulsory for every year 12 and year 13 student to have daily access to a computer with Internet access (this includes both weekly and full boarders). It is expected that the minimum system requirements listed below will accommodate year 12 students until they leave the college.

Minimum Requirements

* Please DO NOT purchase a Windows PC that has 'Windows XP Home' Edition, 'Vista Home', 'Windows 7 Home Premium' or 'Windows 7 Home/Starter' installed. It must come with 'Windows XP Professional', 'Vista Business', 'Vista Enterprise', 'Vista Ultimate', 'Windows 7 Ultimate' or 'Windows 7 Business' complete with Recovery Disks.  Computers with any Home Edition of Windows installed cannot be added to the school network and IT staff cannot upgrade any Home edition to a compatible edition.

Apple Macintosh computers/laptops now come with Intel Core Duo Technology that effectively allows the user to have both Macintosh and Windows XP Professional Operating Systems installed (Boot Camp) on their MacBook or MacBook Pro. This technology will enable the user to choose either a Macintosh or Windows Operating System from startup (Dual Boot). Note that the windows operating system must be leagally licensed and meet the minimum specifications outlined above.

Computer requirements

• All computers connected to the King's College Network MUST have the College's Anti Virus software installed and all previously installed Anti-Virus software must be removed from the student's laptop either by the student or the College's IT Staff. The King's Anti-Virus software is only available from the King's Friends Shop.
• We strongly recommend that when purchasing a laptop that you consider purchasing an extended warranty package e.g. 3 years extended warranty will cover all hardware repairs not caused by neglect or user abuse. A standard warranty is normally only 12 months.
• King's College does not carry insurance cover for any student owned personal computer/laptop. Our recommended suppliers can and will arrange insurance cover for you OR you can organise to have the computer/laptop added to your existing house and contents insurance policy.
• The King's College IT Centre staff do not repair hardware faults. If a laptop is assessed as having a hardware fault then all approved computer brands will be couriered to an authorised service agent. NB: This service is only available for all Apple, IBM/Lenovo, HP, Compaq, Sony and Toshiba brand laptops. If a hardware fault is associated with any other brand e.g. Acer it then becomes the responsibility of the student to organise its repair including pickup and delivery.
• All student computers/laptops that are connected to the King's College network must first be cleared through the King's IT Centre, failure to do so can result in disciplinary action.

Subject specific requirements

• All students planning to enroll in Media Studies must have an Apple laptop according to the above minimum system requirements although it's also recommended that you upgrade to a Super Drive (DVD/CD RW) for saving finished projects to DVD's. Increasing the RAM installed in your computer to at least 4GB would also be recommended.  Media students are also advised to purchase at least the Mac Book Pro 13" model due to the requirement of a firewire port. Should you require further information regarding these requirements please contact Mrs Elaine Tregedeon (HOD Media Studies). Telephone: (09) 276 0699 ext 821, Email: e.tregedeon@kingscollege.school.nz
• All students planning to enroll in Yr12 & 13 Visual Arts subjects (Art, Design and Photography) must have an Apple laptop according to the above minimum system requirements. Increasing the RAM installed in your computer to at least 4GB would also be recommended due to software requirements. Students are strongly advised to purchase an external Mouse and external Hard Drive to due to software applications used and the demands of the course. Students are also recommended to purchase the software package Apple iWork '09 for certain components of the course. Should you require more information regarding these requirements please contact:
  • For Art, Design - Mr Chas Foxall (HOD Art). Telephone: (09) 276 0699 ext 740, Email: c.foxall@kingscollege.school.nz
  • For Photography - Mrs Jessie Chester (TIC Photograpy). Telephone: (09) 276 0699 ext 764, Email: j.chester@kingscollege.school.nz
• All students planning to enroll in Computer Studies should contact Computer Studies Head of Department, Mr Richard Wells to discuss options and system requirements for the course. Telephone: (09) 276 0699 ext 711, Email: r.wells@kingscollege.school.nz
• All students planning to enroll in Tourism must have their own laptop computer that meets the minimum requirements.

Contact Information

The Apple representative is Mathew Hall-White of Renaissance Education, Telephone (09) 968-4387, Email: m.hall-white@red.co.nz    Download the Renaissance King's Students Pricing (pdf)

The IBM/Lenovo representative is Aaron Wilson of Connect NZ, Telephone 0800 726-227, Email: awilson@connectnz.co.nz.

The King's College IT Centre, Telephone (09) 276-0681, Email: support@kingscollege.school.nz.