St John's College Auckland has served the New Zealand church for over 150 years. In 1992 the Anglican Church in New Zealand changed its constitution to give recognition to the Pakeha, Maori and Polynesian groups in the church. The Canon concerning St John's College was also changed to reflect the new Constitutional arrangements. From that time the college was committed to recognizing the two cultural traditions in its leadership and across all aspects of the college's activities and environment. This implied significant curriculum challenges. Some difficult choices have been faced as to the relationship with a secular university and its implications for the presence in the curriculum of Anglican studies. These have been resolved in a way which honours the contextual issues and the tradition of Anglican faith.
