Shirley Boys' High School (known as SBHS) is a single sex state (public) secondary 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 Rive ...

, New Zealand. It was originally situated on a 6 hectare site in the suburb of

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

, but in April 2019 moved, along with Avonside Girls' High School, further east 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 ...

, 8.6 kilometres from the city centre. The school colours are sky blue and gold.

Brief history

Parents in the eastern and northern suburbs of Christchurch had wanted single-sex education for their sons. In 1957, this finally became available when the school opened under its first Headmaster, Charles Gallagher. Established on a swampy paddock formerly used for grazing horses to the west of North Parade, the School grew rapidly. Within a few years it became a self-confessed and proud rival to Christchurch Boys' High School as well as to St. Andrew's and St Bede's College. A detailed satirical portrait of the school as it was in the late 1960s can be found in ''The Shining City'', a novel by former student Stevan Eldred-Grigg On the Easter weekend (April) of 2007, Shirley Boys' High School celebrated its 50th Jubilee. Commemorative events included an Old Boys' XV playing the current 2nd XV and the 1st XV playing in historic uniform against St. Andrew's College; as well as a golf tournament, formal black-tie dinner, staff luncheon and 'meet-and-greet evening'.

2011 earthquake

During the magnitude 6.3 quake on 22 February the school suffered extensive damage and had to close. At least two classroom blocks were expected to be demolished, and all of the concrete areas of the school, including the new tennis courts, were badly damaged. The students did not attend school for almost a month afterwards, before the decision was made to shift its pupils to Papanui High School – with Papanui High School's students changing to attend classes from 8 am until 1 pm, while the Shirley Boys' High School students entered the school at 1.15 pm and finished at 5.45 pm. After about 6 months of this arrangement pupils were able to return to the re-opened school in early September 2011.

Move to new site

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 Avonside Girls' High School at a site in east Christchurch. On 12 February 2015 the site was announced to be the former

site. The move to the new site was completed in April 2019.

Houses

Notable alumni

* Nathan Astle – Former New Zealand cricketer * Tom Christie (rugby union) – Current Crusader * Ryan Crotty – Former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

and

Canterbury Crusaders The Crusaders (formerly Canterbury Crusaders and BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They are the mos ...

rugby player * Stevan Eldred-Grigg – New Zealand novelist and historian * Aaron Gilmore – Former Member of Parliament * Craig Green – Former

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

Chris Jack Christopher Raymond Jack (born 5 September 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Canterbury and the Tasman Mako in the National Provincial Championship and its successor, the Air New Zealand Cup; the ...

– Former

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

* Dave Jaggar – computer scientist and James Clerk Maxwell Medal winner * Brodie McAlister – Current Crusader * Hugh McCutcheon – Current

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball. The team has won five Olympic medals, including three gold. History As the birth ...

head coach *

Craig McMillan Craig Douglas McMillan (born 13 September 1976) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played all forms of the game. He was a right-handed batsman and useful right-arm medium pace bowler and played for Canterbury in New Zealan ...

– Former New Zealand cricketer * Richard Petrie – Former New Zealand cricketer *

Setaimata Sa Setaimata Sa (born 14 September 1987) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Mackay Cutters in the Intrust Super Cup. Background Sa was born in Samoa. His junior club was Shirley before he was poached by the Papanui Tigers ...

– Current

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

rugby league player * Steve Scott – Former

halfback *

Bradley Shaw Bradley Shaw (born 13 February 1983 in Christchurch) is a field hockey player from New Zealand, who earned his first cap for the national team, nicknamed ''The Black Sticks'', in 2004 at the Champions Trophy against the Netherlands. He compet ...

– Current

Black Stick "Black Stick" is a 1993 song from Australian rock band The Cruel Sea. The song was released in March 1993 as the lead single from the band's third studio album, '' The Honeymoon Is Over''. It peaked at number 25 on the ARIA Charts. At the ARIA ...

* Hayden Shaw – Former

References

External links

Official Shirley Boys' High School website
{{Authority control Boys' schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1957 Secondary schools in Christchurch 1957 establishments in New Zealand