Avonside Girls' High School is a large urban high school in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, with more than 1,000 girls from Year 9 to Year 13. It was formerly in the suburb of

Avonside Avonside is an eastern suburb in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest suburbs of the city, with only Heathcote being older. History The suburb was named after Holy Trinity Avonside, which was built beside the Avon River in 18 ...

but moved in 2019, along with

Shirley Boys' High School Shirley Boys' High School (known as SBHS) is a single sex state (public) secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was originally situated on a 6 hectare site in the suburb of Shirley, but in April 2019 moved, along with Avonside ...

, to the former

QEII Park Queen Elizabeth II Park was a multi-use stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand, located in a large park of the same name. The stadium had a capacity of 25,000 people and was built in 1973 to host the 1974 British Commonwealth Games, with a tempora ...

site in the east of Christchurch.

History

The school originally opened in January 1919 on the Avonside Drive site as a satellite campus of

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was established i ...

. It became a separate school in its own right in 1928.

Earthquake

Following the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the school site closed, with classes operating at

Burnside High School Burnside High School ( mi, Te Kura o Waimairi-iri) is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of students, it is the largest school in New Zealand outside Auckland, and ...

in the afternoons. Two school blocks, including the Main Block, were condemned following the earthquake and were demolished. Students returned to the Avonside site at the beginning of 2012, with relocatable and prefabricated classrooms filling gaps left by the condemned buildings, but due to significant land damage adjacent to the school site, it was clear that the school might need to close or relocate. Education Minister

Hekia Parata Patricia Hekia Parata (born 1 November 1958) is a former New Zealand politician and former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, having been elected to parliament in the 2008 general election as a member of the New Zealand Nationa ...

announced on 16 October 2013 that the school would move, and be co-located with Shirley Boys' High School at a new site in east Christchurch, and on 12 Feb 2015 the site was confirmed to be the former

site – and the move was complete in April 2019.

Notable staff

Before she entered politics,

Marian Hobbs Marian Leslie Hobbs (born 18 December 1947) is a New Zealand politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2008. She was initially a list MP and then (from 1999) represented the electorate. She served as Minister for the Enviro ...

was principal of the school.

Jean Herbison Dame Jean Marjory Herbison (29 April 1923 – 20 May 2007) was a New Zealand academic, educator, researcher and Chancellor of the University of Canterbury. She was the first woman to hold the post of chancellor at a New Zealand university. Biog ...

, later New Zealand's first female chancellor of a New Zealand university, taught at the school from 1952 to 1959.

References

External links

Education Review Office (ERO) reports
{{Authority control Girls' schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1919 Secondary schools in Christchurch 1919 establishments in New Zealand